Res. Life sees more sophomore housing cancellations in recent years

Although Department of Resident Life officials said they could accommodate all juniors and seniors wanting to live on-campus, more sophomores are opting to pack up and move out of their dorm rooms.

This semester, 308 sophomores — 8.7 percent of the sophomore class — requested to cancel housing with Resident Life, and the requests are only expected to increase as students continue to cancel into January despite the Dec. 1 deadline, according to Scott Young, Resident Life's assistant director for administrative and business services. While this number mirrors those of last year, it is up 2.5 percent from 2009, which was the last year the department was unable to guarantee on-campus housing for undergraduate students for all four years, Young said.

Even with the housing crunch over, Resident Life officials said just because students can stay on campus does not mean they necessarily will.

"I think more students will consider that they have more housing options now," said Erin Iverson, the housing assignments manager for Resident Life. "There's going to be more choices available for students to consider for any given year."

Semester-long study abroad programs could be a contributing factor to the increase, Young said, adding he believes more students are opting to take their education overseas. In spring 2009, 71 students canceled their housing contracts to go abroad, and in the spring of 2010, 33 students cancelled their housing to go abroad. Last spring, that number rose to 111.

However, some students said transitioning from a dorm to an apartment or house is a rite of passage they do not want to pass up.

"It's good to live in the dorms to get the experience as a freshman," said sophomore English major Brendan Corbett, who is moving with three friends into a University Club apartment next semester. "But as you start making friends, you want more independence. I don't want to share a bathroom with an entire floor anymore."

And others said they are drawn to the prospect of cheaper rates and greater personal freedoms found outside the dorms.

"I got pulled into Commons this semester, and they're much nicer to live in [than residence halls]," junior computer science major Lisa Giles said. "Some of my friends moved off campus into apartments to find cheaper rates too. We just wanted to get out of the dorms."

With 9,061 beds on the campus — up from 8,352 in 2010, according to a housing market study commissioned by the department — officials are confident they can continue to house all students who request on-campus living arrangements. However, officials said they hope the number of students who decide to stay on campus does not dramatically increase, which could potentially trigger another housing shortage.

"We would hope and expect we could guarantee housing to all students who ask for it from next year on, as long as the size of the incoming freshman class and return rates remain the same," Young said.

Yet several students said they are not willing to give up the perks of living on the campus, such as short walks to class and the convenience of eating in a dining hall.

"I like living on North Campus. It's close to my classes and close to Stamp," freshman psychology major Tempest Jamison said. "If I had to take a bus to class I would never go, and I don't feel like dealing with constant parties off campus."

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