Are rising seniors getting the boot? What to know about next year's housing changes
On Sept. 9, students received an email announcing changes to the housing selection process for the upcoming academic year. Starting next year, sophomores will be required to live on campus, a change from the current system, which only has a residency requirement for freshmen.
This announcement sparked questions from the current junior class, who have voiced concerns that there won’t be enough housing for them to live on campus during their senior year. In response, Kirsten Gabriel, director of Student Life and Orientation, and Margy Frazier, associate director of Student Life, offered an open session on Sept. 26 to clarify what the policy change entails and address student concerns.
During the session, Gabriel and Frazier went over the basics of the new housing policy: freshmen will live in the Bonaventure and Marian; sophomores will live in Canticle, McDonald, Rose and Treacy; and juniors and seniors will live in Clare and LaVerna. Seniors will no longer be granted first priority for housing, but according to calculations, only as many as twelve seniors would be turned away for on-campus housing in a worst-case scenario, and those few students will have guidance from Residence Life staff in finding off-campus rentals.
“The reality is that we’ve always had Viterbo students who’ve lived off campus,” Gabriel said. “What we’re doing effectively is just flipping that on its head, so instead of having sophomores who are living off campus, we’re looking at seniors.”
The general response from students who attended the session was positive. “I think it was very helpful,” said Bailey Benson, a junior biopsychology major. “I was concerned that if I apply to live on campus and I get kicked out, would I have a place to live?” Benson is no longer worried. “It sounds like there wouldn’t be a problem either way,” she concluded. “They’re very nice about it, and they’re willing to help you.”
Still, some students remain unhappy. Despite the small number of seniors who may be turned away, students like Madison Zloto, also a junior biochemistry major, were still frustrated that it is even a possibility: “If you cannot guarantee housing for everyone,” she asked, “how does this make it ethical?”
Fifi Rodriguez, a junior theater major, still questions the motive behind the decision. “I trust housing’s ability to house everybody. I trust that very few people will be turned away,” she said. “But I don’t trust the motivations that led to this choice, because while all of our staff love us, the board does not necessarily. The board is looking at money.”
Rick Trietley, vice president of Student Affairs, defended the decision to add a sophomore residency requirement in a follow-up interview on Oct. 10. “The research on student success is really, really powerful and clear that there are multiple advantages to students living in residence halls as opposed to off campus,” Trietley said.
He pointed out that feedback from Viterbo students informed the decision to extend the residency requirement. “We did a lot of surveying of our students and held a lot of focus groups to get feedback, and what we found is that our students believe that it was important for sophomores to live on campus.” He shared that last year, the residence halls had one hundred beds go unclaimed, and this year, they could still comfortably house another seventy-five residents. “At the end of the day, I don’t believe this is going to be a large-impact problem.”
If any students are upset by the housing change or the reasoning behind it, Trietley says the buck stops with him. “Obviously, I can’t be the ultimate approval authority on this level of decision, but I can say the initiative to pursue this was me,” he said. “And it’s because I know it’s good for students, and I’ll own that all day long, and I can look in the mirror and feel good about that.” He also invited any students who want to voice their concerns or frustrations to meet with him, saying, “I’m more than willing to always talk to students.”