UNC to stop reserving North Campus residence hall space for freshmen

As if there weren’t enough freshmen on South Campus already.

Next year, housing officials will stop reserving space for freshmen on North Campus, pushing 200 to 250 additional freshmen to South Campus in an effort to keep older students from moving off campus.

The move will not forbid freshmen from living on North Campus but represents a substantive change in the University’s housing policy.

Officials made the decision after a survey conducted a month ago indicated that more non-freshmen would be inclined to live on campus if North Campus rooms were more readily available, said Rick Bradley, assistant director of housing assignments and communication.

The University now has 434 empty beds, which cost about $2.4 million in wasted space, Bradley said.

“We market our spaces to increase demand,” he said. “We want to increase occupancy primarily for sophomores and juniors.”

The University traditionally reserves space on North Campus for a portion of the freshmen class, Bradley said. About 8,500 students live on campus, and 20 percent of the 3,300 freshmen live on North Campus.

“Because we were holding space for (freshmen), we were probably having upperclassmen moving off campus,” Bradley said. “We’re hoping that now, more will want to stay on North Campus.”

Bradley said 165 of the 434 empty beds are on North Campus. Housing officials hope to fill those spaces with upperclassmen and fill the additional 208 beds on South Campus with freshmen.

Freshmen who participate in living-learning communities or the honors program will still be able to live on North Campus, Bradley said. Disabled students will also be able to live on North Campus according to their needs.

Some of the move’s rationale relates to the freshmen class dynamic, officials said.

“We encourage (freshmen) to live on South Campus because that’s where most of their class is housed,” said Larry Hicks, director of housing and residential education.

Encouraging freshmen to live on one side of the campus is similar to Duke University’s housing policy, which requires freshmen to live on East Campus.

“The class identity for students is much higher because they share experiences like bus routes and dining rooms,” said Joe Gonzalez, associate dean of housing services at Duke, where students are required to live on campus until the end of their junior year.

Some UNC freshmen who live on South Campus said it has enhanced their experience.

South Campus residence halls include Morrison, Ehringhaus, Craige, Hinton James, Koury, Hardin, Horton, and Craige North.

“I like living on South Campus, because I know everyone’s in the same boat as me,” said freshman Kelly Pope.

“If I lived on North Campus, it would be overwhelming because I’d be surrounded by upperclassmen who knew what they were doing.”

Nestor Ramirez, a UNC senior and admissions ambassador, said the move could have negative impacts on the way the admissions office markets the University.

“It will seem like freshmen are being confined to one space,” he said.

And some upperclassmen said the change in policy might not affect their decision to move off campus.

“I cook a lot, so I wanted my own kitchen, and I wanted my own room,” junior Maria Marshall said.

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