According to a weekly report from Eastern Michigan University’s Housing Department, the number of students living in the residence halls has increased by almost ten percent — from 3,073 to 3,314 — since Fall 2010.
Colleen Tompkins, the Assistant Director of Residential Services, believes it to be partially because of the incentives given during the room draw that started in January.
For freshmen living in counties that don’t usually feed to Eastern, there was a reduction in their housing bill. Returning students who turned in their housing contracts by a certain date and some who had a certain GPA received housing credits.
“We especially wanted to do it with the returning students,” Tompkins said. “We’re finding that each year students are waiting longer and longer to submit a contract.”
Tompkins also said a lot of returning students prefer single rooms, but double rooms have become more popular in the last couple years.
Senior Melissa Paavo, who is majoring in occupational therapy, used to live in the Towers but switched to Buell because it was more affordable and gave her the opportunity to share a room with friends.
“I like the Towers because I had my own room, but then again I like living with other people,” Paavo said.
Athletes are required to live in the residence halls their freshmen and sophomore years, but this does not affect the number of on-campus residents, said Tompkins.
To help transfer students who often have not lived in a residence hall before, Tompkins created transfer communities, which range from a whole floor in the Towers to a suite in Buell.
Most students who live on campus are between the ages of 18 and 20, but Eastern also has some residents who are in their late 20s and older. Age is a factor used to assign roommates.
Kris Crittendon, a senior majoring in Communication and Media, has lived in the dorms since he was a freshman and has enjoyed the time he’s spent on campus.
“I actually prefer the dorms,” he said. “I wouldn’t change it. For people who think about attending college, I definitely recommend going to the dorms. You get the college experience better living in the dorms.”
The cost of double rooms and meal plans has increased over the past year. The cost of living in the Towers
and the Village, however, have not increased.
Even though room and board is higher than it was before, Paavo accepted it as a part of going to college.
“There’s no choice,” she said. “If it goes up, I’m going to have to pay it no matter what.”
Residence hall expenses are also a downside to Crittendon’s dorm life.
“I’ve been in dorms the whole time, so it’s accumulated.”
An incentive for incoming freshmen that started in 2010 is the Living-Learning and Theme Communities in the First-Year Center. Shalonda Casanova, one of two Interim Assistant Directors for Residence Life, oversees the Theme communities.
Theme communities have programs that follow the acronym LIFE: Leadership, which involves community service; International/Global Awareness, a group to learn about different cultures; Fitness and Wellness, which helps to establish healthy lifestyles and Exploration, a way to research possible career choices.
In addition to the Theme communities, there are four different Living-Learning Communities that offer classes of different topics such as foreign language, global issues, art and history. Students who are part of these communities attend these classes together and also live on the same floor in the First-Year Center.
“It is something we share with the students at Fast Track to start to let them know these are options,” Casanova said. Students have the option of requesting to be in the programs when they fill out their housing contract.
With these incentives in place, Tompkins said she hopes students will start submitting their housing contracts earlier in the year so the Housing Department can plan better.
As for continuing with these housing benefits and coming up with new ones in the future, Tompkins said they will have to “make sure it had a good impact and was worth the money.”
Kya Fisher, a freshman and communications major, is enjoying her first-year experience in the residence halls even though she is not part of one of the new freshmen communities.
“For freshmen year, it’s perfect being in the dorms,” Fisher said. “I wouldn’t prefer to live in an apartment just so I can get to know people and get that experience.”
