The Triangle

Issue date: 10/10/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Olivia Garrity

Some freshmen who applied after the June 15 housing deadline have been assigned to live in the lounges of Myers, Kelly and Calhoun Halls, according to Rita LaRue, senior associate vice president for Drexel Business Services.

University housing currently has 66 freshman and transfer students residing in the Calhoun, Kelly and Myers lounges.

According to freshman David Boginsky, the students were told they would be relocated and were given three deadlines for move-out dates.

Thirty-five students will be moving to permanent housing spaces by Oct. 11. Four of the five lounges in Kelly Hall, two of the seven Calhoun lounges and four of the seven Myers lounges used as bedrooms will be re-opened as lounges by Oct. 17 after all the bedroom furniture has been removed and the space has been cleaned, according to LaRue.

LaRue added that the second set of students to move will be notified by Nov. 3 and moved by Nov. 15, and the third set of students will be notified by Dec. 1 and moved out by Dec. 14.

"By the end of the winter term, it is expected that all students originally assigned to lounges will have moved to regular rooms," LaRue wrote in an e-mail.

Though some students have no problem with their temporary housing, others find fault in the lack of space.

"The people are okay, but it's really a space problem," Thomas Williams, freshman and computer science major, said.

LaRue ascribed the situation to the increasing popularity of Drexel as a residential campus, with fall 2008 accepted students having the highest number of residential students ever.

"Previously, Drexel has assigned freshman students to the exact number of beds based on a first-come, first-served scenario and wait-listed the rest," LaRue wrote. "Unfortunately, by the time (usually the second week of the fall term) University Housing confirmed the 'no shows,' the wait-listed students were unavailable to move onto campus."

LaRue said Drexel assigned the students who would otherwise have been wait-listed to the lounges this year for this reason. "The new approach has allowed these students to be a part of the residential community from day one, and thus far has worked out well," LaRue wrote.

A certain number of students have cancelled their housing contracts already this year, making regular rooms available for half the students assigned to lounges to move into this week, LaRue said.

LaRue added that in the spring term, there have always been vacancies in the residence halls due to students choosing to live at home, going to study abroad or taking co-ops outside Philadelphia, which will create more available rooms.

Construction on the new residence hall is also on schedule and the dorm is expected to open in September 2009 in time for fall move-in, according to LaRue.

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