One of North Campus’ largest and most popular residence halls will become a new home for many freshmen next year — only freshmen.
Housing officials decided to make Elder Hall an all-freshmen dorm, while also making several other changes to next year’s housing policies, said Mark D’Arienzo, associate director of University Housing.
This year the North Campus dorms Hinman House and 600 Lincoln experimented with all-freshmen housing. Elder Hall houses 287 residents, whereas Hinman House and 600 Lincoln complex houses only 87 students.
Sadie Kliner, who lives in Hinman House, said she supports the expansion of all-freshmen housing.
“I feel like we all have a commonality,” said Kliner, a Communication freshman. “It’s nice to be able to recognize everyone I live with. (Converting Elder) is probably a good idea so that more freshman can have the experience of living in an all-freshman dorm.”
But Kurt McKee, a McCormick sophomore and secretary of Elder, said the change means he will have to alter his housing plans for next year.
“I’m disappointed because I really like Elder and I was looking forward to living here next year,” he said.
D’Arienzo said other changes to NU’s housing system include the conversion of 2251 Sheridan Road, which currently houses many transfer students and was formerly home to now disbanded fraternity Kappa Sigma, into permanent transfer-student housing. Lindgren Hall, which was vacant this year, will become a coed dorm, he said.
Starting this year, students in 1835 Hinman only will be allowed to pull in one other student to live in their suites and Foster-Walker Complex’s quads will become triples. In Kemper Hall, students with controlling priority numbers will only be able to pull in two other students into suites of single-occupancy rooms. Previously students in Kemper were able to pull in up to five other students.
D’Arienzo said the new policy for Kemper represent the most significant change.
“(It) allows for more people to have an opportunity to try for Kemper,” D’Arienzo said.
D’Arienzo also said he thought the changes at Foster-Walker would have a large impact.
“That should be huge,” he said. “That’s something I’ve been trying to do for years now. Students were never interested in Foster-Walker quads because they were cramped,” he said.
The Foster-Walker quads have grown more cramped in the last 20 years, D’Arienzo said.
“I would venture to say that the students aren’t getting larger,” he said. “They’re bringing more personal belongings from home.”
D’Arienzo said most changes are a response to recommendations put forth by a student advisory group. The changes in Foster-Walker, Kemper and 1835 Hinman were based on housing assignment trends.
“We’re trying to be very responsive of what the students at Northwestern want,” he said. “I think this is a positive step in the right direction.”
D’Arienzo said the changes in housing policy are necessary even if some students will think housing officials are going in the “wrong directions.”
Education junior Jacki Carlsen is one of these students.
“I think that if I were a freshman or sophomore and I had planned to live with a group of six people, I would be frustrated by the changes,” said Carlsen, who lives off-campus. “That would be really hard because I know that people had planned in advance to live with certain people.”
Some students were indifferent about the new housing policies.
“I’m kind of apathetic about the whole housing situation,” said Seth Thorn, a Weinberg and Music freshman who lives in South Mid-Quads. “One way or another, I’m going to end up in a dorm. I don’t see how the whole priority number system is relevant.”
