The Griffon News

Western’s residence halls have increased by nearly 200 students after incoming freshman were mandated to live on camps and returning students were given the option of living alone in a super-single suite.

Last fall, 725 students lived on campus in the residence halls. This semester 904 students have contracts stating they live on campus. Of those students, 300 are returning and 604 are new to Missouri Western housing. After all the students moved on to campus, there were still 212 beds available.

The increased number of beds was partially made available when Beshears reopened after much needed renovations were made during this past academic year. Numbers also increased this semester after first-year students who are enrolled at Western with nine or more credit hours are required to reside in the residence halls unless they meet the criteria for a waiver. Altogether, 599 students turned in eligible waivers. Four students were military veterans, 54 were married or with dependents, 53 had accumulated more than 30 credit hours at other institutions, 136 were over the age of 21 and 352 students live at home with their parents or guardians.

With new policies in place, Kelly Glynn, the administrative coordinator of housing and residential life said that freshmen coming into the Living Learning Center (LLC) are being very accepting of the policy.

“They recognize more people they have classes with and make new acquaintances because they all live together and are all involved in the same new experiences,” Glynn said.

Allyson Swearingin is a first-time freshman that lives in the LLC. Swearingin said she planned on living on campus before she knew about the first year requirement but has heard other say they are glad they have had this experience.

“I like it a lot because you get yourself out there a little bit more,” Swearingin said. “You see the same people everyday and you know what’s going on more than people who live off campus.”

Glynn said the first year requirement has shown a definite increase in overall on-campus housing numbers.

“I feel like we’re heading in the right direction,” Glynn said. “We still have a lot to do to recruit more students and retain the ones that are already here.”

One policy that has helped the retention rate of on-campus housing has been giving returning students the option to live in a super-single suite. The suites used to house eight students: four rooms with two students in each room. Now, super-single suites still have four rooms with only one student per room. Glynn said Housing wanted upperclassmen to be able to have more privacy and live with just a handful of friends of their choice. This semester, 233 students live in super-single suites.

Sophomores Michaela King and Schardae Dupriest returned to Western this semester and live together in a super-single suite in Logan Hall.

“I like living in the suites because there are less people to deal with,” King said. “You aren’t necessarily forced to live with people you don’t like and you build a close-knit family environment.”

Dupriest agrees: “When you have your own room, you don’t have to clean it or worry about temperature problems with a roommate.”

After students move on to campus, Housing and Residential Life confirm how many students actually checked into their rooms through verification. Before the verification process during the third week of classes, there were 941 students with contracts. After verifying which students checked-in to live on campus, the number decreased to 904 students.

Glynn said this is normal because students will turn in contracts and receive last minute offers to attend somewhere else or decided college life is not for them.

Before verifications last fall, 884 students had placed contracts to live on campus. After students signed to verify they did move into their residence hall, there were only 725. According to Glynn, a difference of only 37 students is good to have.

This semester, 74 seniors, 74 juniors, 113 sophomores, and 643 freshmen live on campus. Upperclassmen had the option of living in any building other than the LLC that is specifically for freshmen. This is the first semester freshmen were unable to live in suite-style housing. Leaverton Hall was used for freshmen overflow as well as to house freshmen football and softball players. Beshears was only available to juniors and seniors and students over 21.