2008 Woodie Awards
Apartment Triples Are A New Option
Meg McCallum
Issue date: 12/9/04 Section: Opinion
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The Office of Residence Life is currently considering tripling rooms in The Village at Little Falls and Clove Road Apartments, though it is not a definite decision, Director of Residence Life Regina Sargent said.
Student residency at Montclair State University is in the midst of an overcrowding situation for a number of reasons. "Residence Life has experienced the perfect storm," said Sargent.
Tripling can sometimes be to the students' advantage, especially regarding some students' personal financial situations or wanting to be matched with more than one friend, said Sargent.
Currently, MSU is housing 250 triples in the rooms of the traditional campus alone, which affects 750 students in total, said Sargent.
In the fall semester of 2004, the University took on a new advertising technique by guaranteeing housing to all freshmen who applied for residence and submitted a housing deposit by the 2004 May 1 deadline.
Unexpectedly, many incoming freshmen met the May 1 deadline, while there was also a sufficient increase in the amount of returning students. The percentage jumped from 50 percent to an estimated 60 percent in February and March of 2004, which helped lead to overcrowding, said Sargent.
This year, the Office of Residence Life is only guaranteeing housing for incoming freshmen who live farther than 10 miles from the campus. The Office of Residence Life is trying to eliminate the substitution of hotels for dorm rooms, though 80 out of 120 students are returning to the hotel by choice this spring, said Sargent.
The Office of Residence Life is not yet sure that the decision to triple the double bedrooms in The Village is a positive solution to the overcrowding, however, Residence Life may ask for possible volunteers to share living space with an additional student, said Sargent.
Many physical factors come into play in regard to tripling the Clove Road Apartments. "Clove Road apartment facilities in the past were not taken care of, and we can't just load people up there. We realize now what is wrong with the facilities and are doing what we can to change them," said Sargent.
Student residency at Montclair State University is in the midst of an overcrowding situation for a number of reasons. "Residence Life has experienced the perfect storm," said Sargent.
Tripling can sometimes be to the students' advantage, especially regarding some students' personal financial situations or wanting to be matched with more than one friend, said Sargent.
Currently, MSU is housing 250 triples in the rooms of the traditional campus alone, which affects 750 students in total, said Sargent.
In the fall semester of 2004, the University took on a new advertising technique by guaranteeing housing to all freshmen who applied for residence and submitted a housing deposit by the 2004 May 1 deadline.
Unexpectedly, many incoming freshmen met the May 1 deadline, while there was also a sufficient increase in the amount of returning students. The percentage jumped from 50 percent to an estimated 60 percent in February and March of 2004, which helped lead to overcrowding, said Sargent.
This year, the Office of Residence Life is only guaranteeing housing for incoming freshmen who live farther than 10 miles from the campus. The Office of Residence Life is trying to eliminate the substitution of hotels for dorm rooms, though 80 out of 120 students are returning to the hotel by choice this spring, said Sargent.
The Office of Residence Life is not yet sure that the decision to triple the double bedrooms in The Village is a positive solution to the overcrowding, however, Residence Life may ask for possible volunteers to share living space with an additional student, said Sargent.
Many physical factors come into play in regard to tripling the Clove Road Apartments. "Clove Road apartment facilities in the past were not taken care of, and we can't just load people up there. We realize now what is wrong with the facilities and are doing what we can to change them," said Sargent.