The Griffon News

Decrease in housing has administrators looking for solutions

If the Housing numbers drop much lower, it could be time for Western officials to panic.

The cost of living in the residence halls helps pay for many things including upkeep, renovations to the halls and paying for the bond used to build the LLC.

Director of Residential Life Michael Speros said approximately 750 students are currently living in the residence halls, which is about 80 percent of the maximum occupancy.

“If we go any lower (in numbers), we may have to take money out of our reserves (to pay off the bond),” Speros said.

The number of students residing on campus has seen a slight decrease over the last few years, but Speros says that it is not a cause for alarm.

During the fall semester, there were roughly 950 students with a Missouri Western address.

The numbers for spring semester are traditionally lower than those of the fall semester due to students quitting and transferring to different schools.

Students canceling their contracts seem to be an irrelevant issue. There were only 16 students who attempted to void their contracts while continuing their education at Western. Of the 16 attempts to leave, only six students were let out of their contracts.

Ben Reutter, a freshman theater/video major, was one of the six students allowed to cancel his contract and move off campus between semesters. Reutter was not a big fan of
the limited personal space and the restrictions dorm life had to offer.

“I felt shepherded,” Reutter said.

While the housing numbers haven’t had drastic changes, they are still low enough that the university has been brainstorming for ideas to keep students on campus.

One of the major changes that Western has put into place is the renovations to Beshears Hall. Beshears is now a hall for juniors, seniors and students over 21.

The hall was designed for single space living to offer students more personal space, while still enjoying the conveniences of campus.

The computer lab in Vaselakos Hall, affectionately known as V Hall, will be downsized.

The computers from V Hall will be dispersed to all of the residence halls, creating small computer labs for all halls to enjoy.

Another option to keep students on campus that is under consideration is locking students into a fixed rate.

The price for living in the dorms increases by a few percent each year. Western officials are contemplating locking a student into the rate they pay for their first semester. Tentatively, the prices would increase for new students but not for students that have been living on campus.

The university has taken advantage of the low numbers for the semester. Students were moved out of the second floor long wing of V Hall so Western could get a jump-start on renovations.