No Guarantee

Kristin Feemster, a senior in the Department of Mass Communications, arrived in Winston-Salem equipped with everything she needed to begin a successful school year, that is except for one important thing: on-campus housing. Feemster had already arranged to dwell in an off-campus apartment when she applied for housing last spring but was one of many students who was placed on a waiting list with more than 150 people ahead of her. Jennifer Wright, a sophomore Psychology major, faced the same predicament. “I feel like it’s the university’s responsibility to make sure all students have housing,” said Wright, who temporarily is housed in the living room of a suite in Wilson Hall. Linda Inman, director of housing and residence life, said the housing department was unable to guarantee housing to any student because of increased enrollment. Since 2000, WSSU has experienced a surge in enrollment, with no apparent end in sight. However, population figures for this year’s class were not available, according to school officials. Inman said students who were admitted to the university and submitted their housing application by May 15 were given priority for housing. Still, that was no guarantee. Inman added that students are notified, before arriving at school to move in, that they will be placed in temporary housing. And, as soon as there is a housing cancellation, the temporary housing student next on the waiting list is able to move into permanent housing. “We are trying to accommodate as many students as we can,” Inman said. But the effort is apparently not good enough or moving as swiftly as some students would like because, rather than wait until next October, they’ve located housing off-campus. Feemster is one of those who did just that. “I think housing is still a problem,” she said. Inman said that when school began, there were 88 students in temporary housing. Currently there are 29 students that remain in temporary housing. “Things are moving rapidly,” she said. Inman also stated that the housing department hopes to have all the temporary residents housed by October. The residents that have temporary housing students in their suite receive $15 per week as long as there is a temporary housing student staying there. Despite the lack of housing on campus, the housing department has made several improvements to the existing residence halls. Improvements include new carpeting, paint, lights, furniture, televisions for the living areas and additional computers. Also, there are plans for a new residence hall. Keaton Brockman, the student representative for the new housing project, said the new residence hall will consist of about 404 beds, a fitness center, laundry room, computers and printers. Room sizes will also be increased. Final designs for the residence hall are still being worked out, he said. The plans for the new hall are based on the housing survey conducted last spring,” Brockman said. The ground breaking for the project is scheduled Oct. 1, he said, adding, “We want to have as much student involvement as possible.”