“I came here expecting to live on campus for four years,” junior Jeremy Devine said.
Devine’s expectation is shared by most St. Michael’s College students. According to a mandate outlined in the student handbook, four years of on-campus residency is a requirement. The Class of 2009, the largest in the college’s history with 464 students, had the option of off-campus housing.
During the 2009-10 school year, the policy of on-campus housing will once again take effect. Additionally, Residence Life aims to close Senior Hall, the residence building located across Vermont 15.
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Housing coordinator Sheryl Fleury and S.A. Secretary of Student Life Gary Levante give instructions to students at the housing meeting.
(Photo by Lucia Suarez) |
The economics of off-campus living
Students who are living off campus this year were an exception, said Sheryl Fleury, housing coordinator. When the suites were built, the college trustees mandated that all students were required to live on campus for all four years as space allowed. Michael Samara, vice president of student affairs and dean of students, requested a one-year appeal to allow off-campus housing, due to the huge class sizes of 2009 and 2010, she said.
Because the college makes its budget based on enrollment, if there are beds on campus not occupied and paid for, tuition would increase every year, Fleury said.
Even though the Class of 2010 is the second-largest class in the college’s history, at 449 students, off-campus housing won’t be allowed during the 2009-10 school year because the upcoming classes aren’t as big. There will be enough beds to house the senior class, Fleury said, but she is not positive all seniors will get a spot in an on-campus apartment or townhouse.
Fleury predicts that the Class of 2010 will overflow from the townhouses because students may prefer to live elsewhere on campus.
“Some students would rather live in the suites, or would rather get a single room in Founders,” she said. “(The Class of 2010) is going to drive what space is available in the townhouses.”
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The barn behind Senior Hall has seen better days.
(Photo by Kayla Sibilia) |
No more sprinting across Route 15
Cashman, Pontigny and Canterbury Halls were built to end the need for the buildings across Vermont 15, Fleury said. The suites hold 380 students total, or as many as Alumni and half of Ryan Hall hold, she said.
“Even though they’re huge, the suites really don’t help our housing crunch,” Fleury said.
With the current numbers, Senior Hall is not going to be available during the housing lottery as part of the Residence Life Office’s initiative to get all students on the same side of the road, Samara said.
Fleury and Samara said Vermont 15 is especially dangerous at the corner where Senior Hall is located.
Devine is the resident assistant in Senior Hall, which holds 18 sophomore, junior and senior men. He chose Senior Hall because he wanted to be an R.A. for upperclassmen, but also have a single room on Main Campus, he said.
Senior Hall as contigency plan
If there is a long housing waitlist after the lottery is over, there might be a need to open Senior for the 2009-10 year, Fleury said.
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A student walks down rusty stairs at Senior Hall.
(Photo by Kayla Sibilia) |
“We deal with variables every year,” said Jerry Flanagan, vice president of enrollment. “Add in the economic climate this year and how can anyone predict? We can’t read the minds of families and students, so we try to be realistic with our estimates,” he said.
The final numbers won’t be ready until summer, so the future of Senior Hall is uncertain, he said.
The case is similar for off-campus housing, Samara said.
“If or when we get evidence (late summer) … that we can’t house everyone that we need to house, then I would go to the president. But right now, early calculations and the uncertainty of the economic times indicate that we’re going to play it by the residential policy (of four years living on campus).”
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