Sophomores and juniors who know whom they want to live with may have a better chance of securing slots in Oakland Hall next fall.
Resident Life Department officials said they will favor pre-selected groups of four to fill the building’s combined-double “semi-suites.”
The Residence Hall Association discussed plans for the 720-bed high rise at its Tuesday meeting, where senators approved both the selection process and a plan to intermingle male and female suites on all floors but the first.
Each “semi-suite” in the building, which remains under construction in the Denton community, is comprised of a pair of two-person bedrooms conjoined by a bathroom, officials said, adding that there are a limited number of more-conventional double and single rooms. Priority for the first floor and the few doubles and singles will go to students with disabilities. Remaining slots would be filled by a lottery, senators said.
“We’ve been working with [Resident Life Director] Deb Grandner and the ResLife staff to hash out every single detail of housing with Oakland Hall,” Senator Kevin LaCherra said. “This is something that I’m very proud of. We’ve put a lot of work into this.”
Some senators, including Denton Hall Senator Jennifer Spangler, expressed concern about the single-sex first floor, saying there are already individual dorms with this system.
“I think it might be taking away opportunities to live co-ed for students who want to live co-ed,” Spangler said.
But other RHA senators — including Manpreet Khural, who co-authored the resolution to support the housing arrangements — said most existing dorms on the campus are separated into single-sex hallways.
Oakland residence eligibility will be determined through a lottery system similar to that of other dorms, although the RHA voted to support the Resident Life plan giving priority to students who have arranged on their own to fill up a suite.
“We thought that it would be better to have a whole group pre-set,” said Senator Sivan Shachar, who is on the Resident Life Advisory Team within the RHA. “They would know each other, and it would minimize debates.”
Resident Life will assist students in meeting potential roommates if they do not enter as a group of four, Shachar added.
“We’re thinking about using social networking sites to help students meet each other, but we haven’t made any final decisions yet,” he said.
Freshman Spanish major Mary-Kate Cronin said she thought it was a good idea to grant Oakland housing priority to four-person groups.
“I like the fact that priority is given to those entering as a foursome, mainly because that is what my friends and I plan on doing,” Cronin said. “I think that co-ed by suite will be better than the current setup in normal dorms because it’s easier to meet people that way.”
Raakhee Mallick, a sophomore secondary education major who is considering applying for Oakland Hall, said he was glad to see a new type of dorm on North Campus.
“I think it’s really useful. Not only are current sophomores basically guaranteed on-campus housing, but if I wanted to live in a suite, now I can do it on North Campus,” Mallick said. “Suites are usually South Campus-based, so it’s interesting that they’re opening that up to North Campus now.”
RHA Vice President Taylor Cole said the body has spent the whole semester putting together concepts for Oakland Hall.
“I really appreciate how much the university comes to the student body and gets us involved before making changes. It’s a great system,” Cole said. “If students don’t like it, we can always change it later on.”
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