UHDS News

[September 25, 2013 — The Daily Barometer] — Converted lounges housed some students in residence halls first 2 weeks of fall term

Roughly 65 students spent their first days at Oregon State University living and sleeping in converted student lounges within the residence halls.

All 65 students were transferred to permanent housing by the end of week two. Additionally, students were charged a discounted rate for their time in the temporary housing. The rate was equivalent to housing costs during breaks, at about $18 per day.

“This is more art than science,” said OSU President Ed Ray. “It’s like the airlines: You accept more people than you can actually accommodate because you don’t know who’s going to come.”

Fall 2013 is the second consecutive year that University Housing and Dining Services placed students in temporary housing.

Last year, the capacity for university housing was for 4,200 students. After converting double rooms to triple rooms found in Poling, Cauthorn, McNary and Wilson halls, this year’s capacity for university housing increased by 450 people. Even so, the university had a surplus of students.

This instance of temporary housing reflects the noticeably growing population at Oregon State. For fall 2013, housing services faced both the newly required on-campus housing for first-year students, as well as an unprecedented number of returning students who opted to live in residence halls.

To convert the lounges into functional living spaces, UHDS replaced all lounge furniture with the standard bunk bed, wardrobe and desk found in the usual dormitories.

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Read the full article by Sean Bassinger and Kaitlyn Kohlenberg.