Last spring, a rumor circulated on campus that an influx of on-campus residents would result in dorms with three students to a room.
Michael Thomas, faculty adviser for the third floor of Hokona Hall, heard from residents that two rooms on the third floor – including a study lounge – were to be converted into triple rooms for the Fall 2009 semester.
“The important thing was that the students got to keep their lounge on the third floor,” Thomas said. “I followed up on the lounge, and the residency directors agreed to leave the lounge as is.”
The triple rooms are still in the works, but only as a back-up plan, said Bobby Childers, senior public affairs representative for Residence Life and Student Housing.
“At this time there have been no students assigned to triple rooms,” he said. “However, if our occupancy does surpass our current projections, we have methods to quickly notify and serve the limited number of students that may be affected.”
The maximum occupancy load for the dorms is 2,400 said Childers. On average there are 2,300 applications by the fall semester.
Childers also said it is difficult to say exactly how many applications have been submitted at this point.
“Applications are being processed every minute and there’s been a lot of activity,”
he said.
Freshmen applications for admission have increased by 21 percent over last year, according to the Office of Enrollment Management.
Still, Childers said he doesn’t think triple rooms will be needed this fall.
RLSH developed a triple room contingency plan to accommodate more students in case they exceed their maximum occupancy load, said Diane Ranville, supervisor of Housing and Dining Services.
“We want to be as accommodating as possible,” she said. “We heard classes were getting larger, so we’re just making sure that we have space for somebody who walks in and says ‘Hey! I need a place to live!’”
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
The dormitories in the contingency plan are Alvarado, Coronado, Santa Ana, Santa Clara and Hokona, Ranville said.
Childers said RLSH will explore other options before putting three residents in the same room.
“This backup plan will only be used as a last measure,” he said.
If more than 2,400 people apply to student housing, those who submit their application for campus residence later are more likely to be temporarily reassigned to a triple room, Childers said.
Ranville said the students in triple rooms would only live there temporarily until they are relocated to a permanent space, as many residents will move out of the dorms, possibly to live with fraternities and sororities.
“Depending on the demand for occupancy, students who are assigned to triple rooms will live there for up to two weeks,” she said.
Rachel Gunn, a previous UNM student resident, said that she wouldn’t enjoy living in a triple room.
“I was in a double room last year, and two people trying to live together is hard enough, but three people – that’s ridiculous,” she said. “Even if it was for a couple weeks, I don’t think that would be a very good idea. I guess I could endure it, but that’s ridiculous.”
It is still uncertain whether those who are selected to temporarily live in triple rooms will be financially compensated, Ranville said.
“At this point we’re trying to stay away from financial compensation, it’d be very minimal if any, because the students would live temporarily in a triple room,” she said.
