More than 1,000 students on housing waitlist

Cramped conditions in dorms have left many freshmen living with extra roommates and without lounge space as over 1,000 students still on the wait-list hope for openings.

This fall, Resident Life used over 100 "flex" rooms — doubles planned for conversion into triples or quads during space shortages — as well as converted 10 dorm lounges into living space to accommodate the burgeoning freshman class.

Assistant Director for Resident Life Scott Young attributed the overflow to the university admitting a larger-than-expected freshman class. Additionally, a slightly higher percentage of freshman than usual accepted the university's offer of guaranteed on-campus housing for their first year. 

"The residence halls are full and then some," Young said.

As of last week, about 1,200 students remained on the wait-list to receive on-campus housing. 

Many students who were lucky enough to receive a room in a dorm did not expect the conditions they were met with.

Ben Bowman, a freshman computer engineering major, said he didn't know he would be living in a lounge — converted into a four-person dorm room — until he moved in.

"I had kind of guessed from looking at the floor plan," he said.  "I didn't think we were sleeping in the hallway."

Construction paper blocked the windows on the former Hagerstown Hall lounge door, and four sets of beds, desks and dressers lined one wall. Couches and a table occupied a common area and air conditioning blasted from a window unit.

Though the set-up still resembles a lounge more than a traditional dorm room, Bowman said he doesn't mind.

"I like it a lot," Bowman said of the converted lounge, disappointed he would be forced vacate it next semester when space opens up in traditional rooms. All students in lounges will be moved in the spring.

Young explained that many students voluntarily move out of dorms before the spring semester because they choose to study abroad or move off-campus. This spring, 378 students will move out of the residence halls and into the Commons 7 building, scheduled for completion January 2010. 

Junior bioengineering major Martín Vilariño said he felt extremely lucky to receive a spot in Commons 7.

"So once I got into Commons 7, I had to determine what to do for the fall," Vilariño said. "I applied for on-campus housing and once again was lucky to receive a spot in Leonardtown."

Mace Phillips, a freshman government and politics major, said he was frustrated with his assigned forced triple, a room originally intended for just two.

"We're on the bottom on the totem pole," Mace said. "There's no space."

This year's numbers are in stark contrast to last fall's, when the school year opened with vacancies in the dorms and only a handful of students on the wait-list, in part because a smaller-than-expected freshman class entered the university.

All freshmen and sophomores who met the deadline received on-campus housing, as well as some juniors. However, about a third of juniors who applied to receive on-campus housing canceled their requests, possibly due to low lottery or priority numbers and fear they would be left without a place to live.

Young said many of the more than 1,000 left on the wait-list have probably found other housing solutions, but added wait-listed students still interested in receiving on-campus housing should call or e-mail Resident Life immediately.

Oakland Hall — a planned 650-bed high rise near the Denton Community — is on schedule to be completed by the 2011-2012 academic year. This new addition would become the largest dorm on the campus.

pino@umdbk.com