Small changes, big changes, good changes, bad changes. With more students to accommodate, housing officials have been scrambling to make changes left and right.
In contrast to the past, this year’s junior/senior lottery assigned each student an individual number. Students then formed their groups and were ordered according to the lowest, or best, number within the group. Previously, students were required to apply for housing as a group, and were then assigned a lottery number.
“I like the fact that you get your own number since I always have bad luck,” said Chris Karch, ’04. “At least someone else in my group got a decent one.”
Other students disagree, “The changes really didn’t help me, I’m living in the same place I lived freshman year, but it will be fun anyway,” said Michele Fields, ’04.
This school year freshmen that were forced into triples received a tuition reimbursement of $650 per semester. Juniors and seniors who elected to have a fifth or seventh roommate received $500 per semester, according to Raymond Bourdeau, university bursar.
Next year there are no plans for any discount for juniors and seniors required to have an additional town house member. Instead, their rooms are getting upgraded with new furniture, said Bourdeau.
Next year about 40 percent of the junior class will be living in Kostka and Claver or the quad, according to Gary Stephenson, director of housing operations. By requiring the extra person in the townhouses these figures are close to the historical average.
Kostka and Claver will hold upperclassmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. It has a bit more privacy and slightly better living conditions than other dorms offer. Those students who did not get a townhouse or apartment will have the option of having an only stag bucks meal plan.
In addition to that change next year Jogues will only be open to freshman. Programming for Jogues will be done through first year experience (FYE). Loyola’s first and second floors will be home to the Ignatian Residential College, which was opened only to sophomores to address questions of identity and how they fit into the world. The third floor of Loyola will house juniors.
The remaining residence halls will stay mixed. There will be some freshman next year in triples just like this year and the year before. Campion will be undergoing extensive renovations including new furniture, new paint, and new windows, according to Laura Cantrell, associate director of residence life.
At the housing lottery, a few sophomore students were given “temporary” housing, which means that they may be displaced from their original housing assignment next year, depending on the size of the freshman class.
“As much as it’s disappointing to not know for sure where I’m living next year, I think issuing temporary rooms is an improvement from last year when more rooms in Gonzaga and Regis were blocked out for more freshman than necessary,” said Briana Malloy, ’05. “Last year they just blocked out those rooms for freshman instead of giving upperclassmen the chance to get them.”
Other students are more upset.
“Well I think it is absolutely ridiculous,” said Sarah Buckley, ’05, “We pay so much money to come here and they cannot even tell me where I am going to be living. They know how many rooms they have and they know how many of us there are, so they should give us all rooms and not accept too many freshmen but they won’t, because they want as much money as possible.”
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