Sarah Carracher
Senior News Writer
Last week, Dean of Students Kurt Holmes sent an email to the class of 2014 stating that 20 to 30 seniors will be permitted to live off-campus in the 2013-14 academic year. Though the College is traditionally residential and houses approximately 99 percent of its students on campus, the relatively large class of 2014 has induced college officials to reconsider their standard housing guidelines.
Holmes says that the College tries to keep the residence halls as fully occupied as possible while maintaining 4-5 percent of the rooms empty in case of roommate conflicts or other issues. However, the residence halls have recently been exceeding that ideal number. The problem of limited housing has led the College to change its rules for off-campus housing, which is typically only available to students in certain situations such as “true commuters, marital/family status and medical reasons.”
The College annually calculates the number of new students they expect to attend; however, the class of 2014 entered the College with about 50 more people than anticipated. Holmes believes the College would be able to accommodate every student in the coming academic year, but it could be a tight fit and would leave very little extra space. Many rising sophomores would have to wait through the summer to find out about their housing. Because of this, they have decided to provide a “relief valve” to lessen the negative impact on campus residence halls.
Though the class of 2014’s response has been somewhat mixed, some students are pleased with the administration’s sudden change of heart.
“Like other rising seniors I know I feel as if I have exhausted my residency options at Wooster and want to experience something different during my senior year. I hope it works out,” said Maria Janasz ’14.
Janasz is only one of several rising seniors who want to live off-campus. “We know there’s going to be a waitlist,” said Holmes.
However, students also expressed frustration with the financial implications of living off-campus. One student who had hoped to live off-campus during his senior year discovered that the financial aid he receives might not be fully available if he moves off-campus. Holmes acknowledges that off-campus living does change a student’s and his or her family’s expected contribution, but urges students to contact financial aid before ruling out the possibility.
Holmes also acknowledges the impact of living off-campus on the students’ sense of community, which concerns the student body. “It is an issue, which is why we give it to people who want to do it.”
Some wonder at the sudden change in the administration’s views: “I think it’s weird because Wooster prides itself on being a residential community, and now…some have to live off campus. But at the same time I’m sure there are lots of people who would love to live off-campus, and it would be similar to a lot of other schools where upperclassmen live off-campus,” Emily Neuhoff ’14 said.
Students have expressed surprise at the sudden decision. “As a person who applied to live off-campus prior to the email,” Janasz said. “I was a bit taken aback, especially because when I initially contacted Residence Life about applying to live off-campus I was retorted with the message that only students…[with special situations] should apply because this is a residential campus.”
Holmes acknowledges that this solution was a recent decision, made after several students had already applied for permission to live off-campus. After some students initially applied for off-campus residence before the usual deadline, the administration learned more about the residence situation, prompting them to consider the option of off-campus residence for seniors.
Alex Dorman ’14 sympathized with the College’s situation and applauds the solution: “I think it’s super awesome of the school to be accommodating us in this way instead of just forcing the large senior class to live in dorms…These are special circumstances, and I’m glad Wooster has been flexible in responding to them instead of turning Bissman rooms into triples.”