Housing strain drives students off-campus

Author: Theo May

The College's off-campus housing program will likely accept a greater share of students seeking to live in and around town than usual this Winter and Spring Term due to a projected increase in the number of students returning or arriving for the first time to campus, according to administration officials.

Though the current number of students living off-campus is 89 - down from a high of 120 in 2003 - the College's goal is to keep the number to 70. The actual number of those housed off-campus is likely to remain above the target as long as Middlebury is over-enrolled.

Until the housing crunch is alleviated, Dean of the College Tim Spears admitted, off-campus living is likely to remain a "safety valve for housing."

Residential Systems Coordinator Karin Hall-Kolts bemoaned the housing squeeze, arguing that it has become more difficult for students to work out the living situation they want when there is no extra space for the administration to work with.

In the short-term, Hall-Kolts sees the housing situation tightening further in Winter Term, with an overlap of fall and spring term study abroad students. She noted, though, that the strain on the dorms will be reduced because more people are going abroad in the spring than are returning. More students are also expected to move off campus in the spring.

"The only thing that might cause [the number of people moving off-campus] to change," said Hall-Kolts, "is if students who have been accepted to live off-campus can't find housing."

An increase in rent prices around Middlebury has made finding housing more difficult and could play a major role in determining the future of off-campus housing.

Spears said he understood the attraction for some students of getting out from under the watchful eye of the administration, but he was quick to point out some of the pitfalls of off-campus living, such as the danger of drunken driving. Spears also noted that students who choose off-campus housing are disproportionately Febs.

Spears believes that allowing many upperclassmen to live away from the College grounds contributes to a campus that is dominated by first-years and sophomores, especially at a time in which so many juniors are abroad.

"We like to have seniors living on-campus for the leadership they bring," said Spears.

Several factors have contributed to the current housing crunch and subsequent increase in off-campus living, the biggest of which, according to Spears, is the increased yield from admissions. As the College's prestige rises and as it is able to offer more attractive financial aid packages, a greater yield from those accepted has made dorm space tight.

"Many of the decisions we're making about off campus-housing," said Spears, "are driven by enrollment pressures, which is another way to say it's driven by revenue."

As the number of students living on campus increases, the administration has been forced to convert numerous common rooms into living spaces. Getting students out of lounges is the "first priority," said Spears. Another new issue that has made housing tight is the decision by more students to extend their study at the College to nine semesters.

The College has yet to formulate any concrete plans for dealing with the plethora of housing issues.

"I don't think it's likely we get rid of off-campus housing in the foreseeable future," said Spears. "But there is a theoretical attraction to having all students living on-campus."

A more immediate goal, though, is to move students out of what Spears calls "peripheral housing," which refers to the small houses that belong to the College and dot the perimeter of campus. This is part of the larger push to consolidate housing around the commons system and to offer affordable housing to faculty.

The College has made an effort to improve senior housing as a way to encourage students to stay on campus. By giving students cable television and kitchenettes in dorms like LaForce Hall and the Atwater suites, students can live more independently, according to the administration.

Because the campus is active 12 months of the year, thanks to the Summer Language Schools, it is logistically difficult to renovate some of the older dorms that do not offer the same amenities as Ross and Atwater. One idea, said Spears, is to build a "swing dorm," where students could live for a year while other dorms are renovated.

Until total enrollment decreases, however, the dream of improving on-campus living will remain just that. In the meantime, the College will simply be trying to cope with the housing crunch by using off-campus housing to lighten the on-campus squeeze.