Navigating the Housing Maze

Middlebury students welcome the arrival of spring in many ways, the least pleasant of which may be stress related to housing. As randomly assigned housing numbers are released and superblock applications considered, many students become anxious at the prospect of securing “good” housing for the following academic year. Before considering why this system causes such stress for students, it is important to acknowledge that housing here reflects and enhances the overall liberal arts mission of the College in meaningful ways.

At Middlebury, students are taught to think outside the box, make connections across a range of disciplines and engage with a variety of different perspectives. The fact that on-campus housing is guaranteed for all four years here facilitates these goals and helps to build a strong community in which discussions continue beyond the classroom and into organized events, casual lunchtime conversation and, of course, dorm life. Having the vast majority of students concentrated on campus as opposed to scattered throughout the surrounding area facilitates a richer, more comprehensive learning experience and ensures that no student is too far from class, the dining hall, facilities or their friends.

In addition, it is hard to complain about the quality and diversity of housing options offered. Upperclassmen who live in interest houses, for example, enjoy great spaces themselves and offer engaging programming to the rest of the student body throughout the year. Few other schools can boast having language houses, social houses and superblocks as well.

Managing such a wide-ranging housing system for 2,500 students is undoubtedly a difficult task, and Residential Systems Coordinator Karin Hall-Kolts and others do an admirable job of placing students in a fair manner. In color-coded emails, students are given step-by-step instructions on how to navigate the housing process. The annual housing fair also gives students an opportunity to connect with the appropriate people and ask questions.

Despite these merits, however, housing anxiety arises each year, and with good reason in some cases. Upperclassmen assigned housing numbers have no way of knowing what numbers their peers have received, which makes coordinating with others and deciding which house to apply for difficult. Releasing a list of all students and their assigned numbers would likely reduce the stress involved with strategizing about the “right” house to apply for. Doing so would also clear up any incorrect assumptions that numbers are assigned unfairly. If the administration chooses not to release a full list of assigned numbers, students should take the lead and develop a voluntary system to share the information, making the process easier for everyone. Other measures to make the system more transparent include holding housing fairs after numbers have been released, giving students an opportunity to interact with Hall-Kolts and each other with more pertinent information.

The underlying cause of housing angst may also relate to the commons system itself, which was never fully implemented as envisioned; though original plans had proposed a more extensive system of neighborhood-like communities, the economic recession delayed the full completion of this project. While the poor timing is not the administration’s fault, the commons system as a whole may hurt some students when it comes to housing. Obviously, everyone’s experience is unique; some students love living with the same people for two years and value the relationships that otherwise may not have formed, while others feel that the system unfairly limits their options, making it harder to meet new students and live with friends. We understand that the commons system has logistical merits, as it reduces the number of students who must be entered into the campus-wide housing draw. However, the commons system does not work for everyone, including Febs who may feel isolated from their commons and awkwardly thrown into their sophomore year dorm after a semester elsewhere. The recent decision to allow sophomores to live in social houses may also open up more flexibility on this front.

While students, faculty and staff should work together to ensure that everyone has a positive housing experience, the administration itself will have to acknowledge the need for more housing space in the near future. Rising enrollment and an increasing number of students choosing not to study abroad make construction of new dorms or conversion of existing buildings likely in the coming years. With areas like the mods long past their expiration date and the future of large spaces such as Prescott House undecided, there is an opportunity to develop new housing options that appeal to broader swaths of the Middlebury student body and remain in line with the College’s core liberal arts mission.