A projected high incoming freshman class at Winthrop University continues to cause frustration among upperclassmen in regard to housing placements for the coming semester.
By Caroline Smith
Staff Writer
News
Winthrop University’s upperclassmen are still facing the consequences of the increasing sizes of the incoming freshmen classes. The Class of 2029 is roughly 1,014 students, which is about 200 more than the Class of 2027.
In addition, students are already experiencing problems with their housing placements and how the campus functions. The buildings are out-dated, with many issues, like minimal air conditioning that functions properly.
Although the upperclassmen are upset with the incoming freshmen classes, Residence Life has been actively trying to address all of the comments and concerns from parents and students.
According to Jarad Russell, Assistant Dean and Director of Residence Life, “We have spoken with Apartment and Corporate Relocation Services [ACRS].”
ACRS is a service that specializes in locating affordable housing for the finances of students. Residence Life also plans to establish a website that will help assist students in their transitions off-campus if applicable, said Russell.
One of the reasons that students are struggling to find affordable housing off-campus is because of their financial and geographic barriers. However, to mitigate that as much as possible the housing located by ACRS will be financially comparable to on-campus housing.
Additionally, “any aid that exceeds tuition costs is refunded directly to the student to pay off-campus rent,” said Russell. Russell believes that this will allow upperclassmen to pay a similar amount of room and board off-campus.
This will allow the incoming freshmen to live in the dorms, which is a way for them to find where they fit into the community. “This builds a vibrant ‘core’ to our campus life,” said Russell.
Incoming freshmen figuring out where they belong assists in building them up for academic success with support from the campus clubs, events, and social activities. Campus life is more than just living in a residence hall and attending classes.
“It’s unfair that the upperclassmen are not getting priority when we have been here longer,” said junior, Logan Howard.
The University bases their idea on the fact that upperclassmen have more experience with campus life and the functions of things. Freshmen are completely out of their comfort zones with the new lifestyles they are introduced to.
“We value our upperclassmen; they are the leaders of our campus. To accommodate as many as possible, we are actively reviewing exemption requests for sophomores who wish to move off-campus early,” said Russell.
Winthrop also anticipates having new infrastructure built to accommodate everyone. According to Julia Longshaw, Winthrop’s News and Media Services Manager, Winthrop will be fast-tracking the construction of additional residence halls.
“We will release as many sophomores that wish to move off-campus as are interested, so that we can create additional bed spaces for upperclassmen,” said Longshaw.
In the meantime, the juniors and seniors that wish to stay on-campus, or in local comparable housing will be placed on a wait list that is based on credit hour—the people who have earned the most thus far are placed at the top. Every upperclassmen wishing to stay will be placed in order of their hours earned, and when there is an opening from an underclassmen, that room will be available to the waitlist.
Winthrop is making a conscious effort to please everyone who wishes to stay on campus and those who do not.
