Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 25, 2000)
Packed halls have students camped in lounges ■ Crammed halls and waiting lists face new dorm residents, and some greek hopefuls must sleep in living rooms By Lisa Toth Oregon Daily Emerald Incoming freshman Jenifer Walsh arrived at the residence halls from Las Vegas expecting to be “camping on a cot.” The economics major was one of seven students temporarily placed in the lounge in Ganoe, a hall in the Bean Complex, instead of a typical room. But the conditions are more comfortable and spacious than the students had anticipated and the group has remained positive about starting their college experience in the very public living quarters. These students, along with others boarded in McAlister and Schafer halls, are going through Greek Re cruitment Week, which begins Sept. 28. They must be moved out of tem porary housing and into their poten tial greek houses by Oct. 13. If they decide not to join a chap ter, Walsh said that University Housing promised to find rooms in the residence halls for the students. The living situation is tight, but housing is facing full capacity this year, a change from last year when Housing lost money because of low residency. This year, things are dif ferent: University enrollment is up, and a new campaign to promote life in the residence halls has drawn students. And while living is cramped now, housing officials said that by the fourth week of classes the resi dence halls should be operating smoothly as students move into greek houses or move off campus. “As we get cancellations for regu lar residence hall rooms, people in the temporary spaces will be moved into those vacant spaces if they are Campus housing stats 2000-01 expected enrollment: 17,400 1999- 2000 enrollment: 17,278 2000- 2001 returning residents: 309 checked in 1999-2000 returning residents: 407 signed up 1998-99 returning residents: 358 checked in SOURCES: Enrollment Management and Uni versity Housing choosing not to join either a fraterni ty or a sorority,” Bean Complex Di rector Mark Brinkmann said. The full capacity of the residence halls is partly due to enrollment growth at the University. Jim Buch, associ ate vice president for enrollment management, said that last year en rollment was at 17,278 and, by the fourth week of school this year, it is expected to reach 17,400 or more. University Housing Director Michael Eyster said that by the end of fall term last year, the residence halls had a net loss of 82 occupants. By the end of spring term that num ber reached 238. The majority of the 3,102 stu dents entering on-campus housing began moving in on Sept. 20, but only 60 of those incoming freshmen were granted single rooms, accord ing to Eyster. The 531 students who requested single rooms were placed on a waiting list and boarded in double rooms. “I doubt we will get through our waiting list like we did last year,” Eyster said. But returning residents aren’t complaining. Eyster said that of the 400 returning residents, 260 re quested singles. University’ Housing was able to accommodate all 260. “Returning residents get priority in room selection,” Eyster said. Dan Brunell Emerald The University is offering temporary housing for more tl.an 400 women and men who want to join a Greek house. The University has given them a deadline of Oct. 15 to move out. adding that by the fourth week of school, residence hall occupancy should reach the “comfortable ca pacity” of 3,125 residents. Last year, the drop in housing oc cupancy made for a tighter budget, which must cover costs independ ently from the rest of the University. “This year, we have more finan cial ability to spend money on serv ices for students because we are full,” he said. Eyster added that upgrades and services for residents this fall in clude special-interest halls, such as the popular Cyber Hall, a fresh coat of paint in many rooms and residen tial Freshmen Interest Group halls. Aside from adding improve ments to advertising material and their Web site, University Housing wanted to welcome students to resi dence life in a new way, Eyster said. “Something small but noticeable we did was to put “0”s in the win dows to help students feel more a part of the community and the Uni versity,” he said. Eyster also said there are currently 107 students on a waiting list to get into double-occu pancy rooms at the University Inn. Unlike last year, Eyster said that this year University Housing stopped promoting resident hall housing to Lane Community Col lege students. However, there are still 63 LCC students who will be living in the residence halls. Eyster said University Housing is also starting site preparation for a graduate student apartment com plex. The development will offer 72 one-bedroom and studio apart ments for graduate students. “I don’t know if we’ll have fewer graduate students living in the resi dence halls,” Eyster said. “What we are doing is providing options for a certain segment of students who didn’t have options before.” The complex will be located be tween Moss and Villard streets, just north of 15th Street, and is expected to be completed one year from now. As with Oregon’s student hous ing, Oregon State University’s resi dence halls are also overflowing due to increased enrollment. With 3,400 housing contracts signed, OSU converted resident advisors’ rooms and study rooms into living spaces for incoming residents. OSU Assistant Director of Hous ing and Dining Services Eric Hansen said this increase is also be cause of the renovation of residence halls and more targeted marketing to keep students better informed about their housing options. Hansen attributes the squeeze on housing to the closing of one resi dence hall for renovation, which is expected to re-open next fall along with a new residential building. “We will be able to accommodate the enrollment growth in the ex pected housing demand for the fall 2001,” he said. ispnng.l! iiiiiiiniiiiiMiiiimifiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiii’i IS taking notes. More than just an electronic organizer, now the Visor™ handheld can be a part of a mobile note-taking system with the Go-Type!™ portable keyboard. Together, they make typing information a no brainer. And since the keyboard serves as a cradle you can even hotsync with your desktop computer. The Visor Go-Type!™ system is perfect for back-to-school. But this offer is only available online and for a limited time. This year, take notes to the extreme. With Visor™. handspring' SAVE 15% ON THE GO-TYPE! FOR VISOR AT: www.handspring.com REE $40 Value Software Bundle From LandWare Includes: WordSleuth Thesaurus / Take Note! Text Editor Visor " and Go-Type!” sold separately. LandWare” and Go-Type!” are trademarks of LandWare, Inc.
