Spring consolidations allow students the option of leaving extended doubles
(Talley Carlston | The Beacon)
By Kathryn Walters, Staff Writer -- walters14@up.edu
Last semester, freshman Emily Morin learned what happens when different personalities and limited quarters collide. Like many UP freshmen, she was assigned to a standard double room, but with two roommates instead of one. Due to space issues and conflicting personalities, Morin was able to move out of her room and into a new one.
"It felt like the other two roommates were a better fit together," Morin said. "They were better matched, and I felt they kind of threw me in just to fill a space. There was definitely not enough space."
Morin's room was just one of 65 dorm rooms at the beginning of the school year that was in extended occupancy, due to an increase in the residential student population. As a result of spring consolidations, the Office of Residence Life and hall directors have been able to get this number down to 21: 7 male rooms and 14 female rooms.
Spring consolidations are made possible by students who leave UP, transfer schools or study abroad.
Kathi Gobel Hamilton, assistant director of Residence Life, has been working with hall directors to move students who are interested in leaving extended occupancy rooms, as well as students who are just looking for a different living situation.
"I'm not expecting to see it drop a whole lot more," Hamilton said.
The dorms most affected by the extended occupancy situation were Fields Hall, Shipstad Hall, Christie Hall, Schoenfeldt Hall and Villa Maria Hall.
Alex Hermanny, hall director for Schoenfeldt Hall, has been working to break down extended doubles. At the end of last semester, he had two extended doubles left.
"People who were okay with the situation, we did what we could to let them stay," Hermanny said. "But everyone else was okay with moving by the end of the semester."
Freshman Roberta McNary Rosso, who lives in Fields Hall, was given the option to move into another standard double room with another person, but decided to stay in order to keep the $750 refund she received as a result of living in an extended double.
"I wanted to leave that space open for other people who might want to move," she said.
When breaking down extended doubles, Hermanny tried to be as accommodating as possible.
"When I had an open room, I did my best to ask them (the students) what they wanted," he said. "We wanted to make sure they had as much say as possible."
In order to prevent extended occupancy situations from happening again, there will be several changes to housing options. Each hall will have to be in maximum occupancy, and suites in Fields and Schoenfeldt will be required to contain a minimum of three people. Also, general room buyouts (where one student can reserve a multiple person dorm room will no longer be offered) unless a student has a special circumstance. Next year's sophomores will also have the option of living in suites normally reserved for upperclassmen.
