Honors housing to expand next academic year

By Sana Danish

Daily Staff Reporter

Students wanting to live in honors housing next year may find it easier to do so with a proposed expansion of the program. According to the plan, honors housing, which currently comprises four floors of the east wing of South Quad Residence Hall, would expand to include three additional floors.

"In the past, we've been the only Michigan Learning Community not to have enough space for all of our entering class," said Donna Wessel Walker, Honors Program assistant director. "We're trying to build the program and increase the quality of our community."

Wessel Walker said that with the addition of three floors, the number of students in honors housing is expected to increase to 500 students from the current number of 225.

Honors housing was consolidated in South Quad in the mid-1990s. Wessel Walker said before that honors housing was "located in specific corridors in disparate residence halls across campus."

She said in the last three years the return rate for freshmen had been high, with more than 20 percent of students wanting to live in honors housing a second year.

Rachel Robinson, an LSA freshman who plans to continue living in honors housing next year, said she thought the experience may change for her if there was an expansion.

"One of the nice things about honors housing is that it's a small community," she said. "I don't know if expanding it, even though it's only three floors, will change that."

LSA freshman and honors housing resident Jonathon Kirley said he was looking forward to the expansion. "As long as there's a lot of returning sophomores I think it'll be fun," he said.

Students who currently live on the floors of the proposed expansion expressed mixed reactions.

LSA freshman Jonathan Irwin said his plans were not really disrupted by the change.

"It wasn't very imperative for me to live in the same hall or room because I want to live in a single next year," Irwin said.

Irwin's roommate Mike Oh, an LSA freshman, said the expansion would limit housing options in South Quad.

"I won't be able to request my room back because honors housing is expanding," Oh said. "I know people from North Campus that wanted to live in South Quad that might not be able to because of all the additional displaced students."

The Office of the LSA Dean and University Housing Administration were also involved in planning the honors housing expansion, a process that started more than two years ago.

Housing Director William Zeller said Housing Administration was glad to participate in implementing changes to honors housing.

"We believe that Michigan Learning Community programs fulfill the educational needs of our students, and anything we can do to promote that is good," Zeller said.