Packed halls
Residency at Central Michigan University is at full capacity, with only two open beds available on the entire campus.
There are more than 6,000 beds available overall.
The worry is that this is the biggest freshman class in history, bringing in more than 3,800 new students. So if administrators are hoping to continually increase recruitment, where will the
newbies live?
This semester, Residence Life officials said they have not had to turn down any students. Officials also cite how enrollment declines during the spring semester because students leave campus for various personal reasons.
Yet, if CMU plans to house an even larger freshman class in upcoming years, it is obvious that additional housing arrangements need to be made.
Adding projects like the bio-technology building seems to help the quality and reputation of the school. However, that building will take the place of Washington Apartments, an on-campus housing facility. So, instead of adding more beds to campus to compensate for the influx in students, the university is removing them.
CMU should consider the current residence halls and find ways to improve upon them. For example, Barnes Hall is the oldest residence hall on campus, with roots aging back to September 1939. The hall had modifications all the way up to the '50s, but some sections still include community bathrooms.
It would be a historical faux pas to destroy the complex, and its location is great for on-campus living. However, to accommodate more students, builders could add on to Barnes to better manage the projected influx of students.
The university could also build an additional housing complex on campus, but available room on campus is becoming less common. In addition, renovating a historic building on campus could be more cost-efficient than creating a completely new one.
