University housing makes appealing home for students

With all the talk this year about overcrowding, student housing has become a touchy subject. But, despite the horror stories of overflow triples and converted lounges, something can still be said for residence halls.

Ninety-four percent of University first-year students live in residence halls, which is an unusually high percentage among colleges, said Alan Levy, director of Housing Public Affairs. It is especially rare at a school that does not require residence in university-sponsored housing.

"It's the easiest way to go," said LSA first-year student Erin Muladore. "If you don't know anything about Ann Arbor, it would be hard to figure out a living situation."

While some first-year students might look at living in a residence hall as a stage through which they'll just have to suffer, others see benefits in University housing.

EMILY NATHAN/Daily Engineering sophomore Alice Miller chills in her popason chair in East Quad.

"East Quad is really friendly," said Goodhart. "It has a homey, comfortable environment."

Certain residence halls do provide a less-threatening atmosphere for University newcomers. According to the University housing homepage (http://www.housing.umich.edu/), residence halls such as Mary Markley, Alice Lloyd and Couzens house mostly first-year students, and also offer living-learning communities.

Programs such as the Lloyd Hall Scholars Program (formerly the Pilot Program) and the Women in Science and Engineering program, recently relocated from Couzens to Mosher-Jordan, offer students the opportunity to live and learn within their residence hall.

The Lloyd Scholars homepage (http://www.lsa.umich.edu/lhsp/info/mission.html/) reads: "The living-learning community offers opportunities for self-discovery ... to make their transition to college both broadly challenging and personally smooth."

"I've met a ton of friends, and I really like all of the people I live with," said Kim Henlotter, an LSA first-year student and Lloyd Hall Scholar.

"We have a really good community here and lots of in-house programs," said Susan Reimann, CORE secretary at Lloyd. "We have 10 more resident staff per capita than any other dorm. Lloyd is educational and social."

Living-learning communities are usually not magnets for first-year students. Convenience seems to be the largest force in drawing students to the residence halls.

"Dorm living is a prerequisite to college life," said Emilie Goodhart, an RC first-year student and East Quad resident. "It's too hard to get an apartment right away."

Location is also a factor in students' choice of residence halls. In the hearts of many first-year students, Central Campus residence halls triumph in the name of convenience.

Muladore, now a Betsy Barbour resident, transferred from Markley in order to be closer to the heart of campus.

"I put my name on three different waitlists," Muladore said. "You can't get any closer to everything than Barbour."

Victoria Huang, an LSA first-year student and South Quad resident, agrees that residence-hall living in general is the best option for first-year students.

"South Quad has a better location," Huang said. "And my friends are just down the hall."

"But I won't be living here next year," he said.

Up until about three years ago, a substantial amount of students would have shared Huang's sentiment. According to Levy, the rate of residence hall reapplication was as high as 35 percent in South Quad and West Quad last year, with Bursley also reclaiming a good portion (30 percent) of its students.

South Quad and West Quad tend to get the most returning students because of the varying ages of residents in those residence halls, as compared to a mostly first-year-student residence hall like Markley, which has about a 5 percent reapplication rate. Overall, sophomores make up about 27 percent of the total residence hall population.

"I lived in South (Quad) last year. You're not secluded here, and I've met so many more people," said Natalie Sloan, an LSA sophomore and South Quad resident. "There are more upperclassmen here than in a dorm like Markley."

Celia Chen, an Engineering sophomore, lived in Markley as a first-year student, but reapplied to another Hill area dorm, Mosher-Jordan.

"I like the Hill area a lot," Chen said. "I like Palmer Field and the CCRB. I like being around upperclassmen. Even though there is about 60 percent freshmen this year, it's nothing compared to Markley."

Central Campus and the Hill area are not the only areas in demand.

"The numbers of students requesting North Campus are growing," said Levy. "The return rate to Bursley is significant, even more so than any other building. Bursley provides a positive community."

Sophomores are not alone in opting for the convenience of University housing. About 12 percent of the junior class and 8 percent of seniors live in residence halls, Levy said.

Kourtney Rice, an LSA junior, is in her third year living in Stockwell.

"You don't have to cook or pay bills," Rice said. "And Stockwell is one of the nicer dorms on campus. It's homey."

Greg Martin, an LSA junior, has also opted to live in residence halls throughout his college career, but for slightly different reasons.

"It's my dad's decision," said Martin. "He knows I have food and heat. I don't think I'd eat if I had to live by myself."

While those upperclassmen who reapply tend to choose the residence halls where they previously lived, some join graduate students in the search for housing with a slightly older population, such as Oxford Housing.

The University student housing homepage refers to Oxford Housing as the "best kept secret in University of Michigan Housing." Oxford is technically a Hill-area residence hall, but it is tucked back into a residential area several blocks from Observatory Street.

According to the homepage, Oxford is made up of six buildings and houses only 175 students. This small complex offers a variety of living opportunities. Both the Max Kade German House and the Julie Esther Emanuel French House are located in the Oxford complex. Some buildings contain apartments, some hold single and double rooms, and one serves as an all-female co-op.

"I love it here because it's quiet and small," said Melissa McKenzie, an LSA senior and second-year Oxford resident. People here are mature. There's no one going around pulling fire alarms."

While some University housing situations may not appeal to all students, some find it their ideal home away from home. Lolonya Paige, an LSA sophomore and second-year Stockwell resident said: "I wouldn't live anywhere else."

11-20-97