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April 15, 2005 > News > Colleges kick 214 students off campus

Colleges kick 214 students off campus

By Ruth Samuelson | Thresher staff

With room jack complete at all nine residential colleges, 214 students have been forced to live off-campus next year, although rooms may become available to displaced students during the summer. Last year 120 students were forced off, and 227 were bumped in 2003.

After not kicking off any students last year, Martel College bumped 52 students — the most by any college since 2003, when Wiess College kicked off 56 students. Many Martel students were surprised to learn the college would not have sufficient housing, Martel co-Vice President Abby Smith said.

After the last of its founding members graduate in May, Martel will have four full-size classes. Martel has been underpopulated since it opened for the 2001-‘02 academic year because its founding classes were smaller than the classes that have matriculated since. The smaller classes allowed Martel to meet demand for on-campus housing until this year, Smith, a sophomore, said.

‘Assuming that most of my class wants to move back, this trend of kicking off almost the entire [rising] junior class will continue,’ Smith said.

Four other colleges also forced significant numbers of students off campus. Baker College kicked off 40 students; Brown College, 32; Hanszen College, 30; and Wiess, 30. In 2004, Baker only kicked off five students, although it kicked off 35 students in 2003. At Brown, slightly more students were forced off campus than in 2004, while slightly fewer were forced off at Wiess.

Hanszen Chief Justice Annalise Gill, a sophomore, said the number of students forced off campus at Hanszen is somewhat misleading because some students did not bother to enter the room draw, thinking they had little chance of getting on-campus housing.

However, Brown Internal Vice President Brandi Burns, a sophomore, said many rising juniors participated in the bump draw despite unfavorable odds.

Lovett College bumped 18 students, and Sid Richardson College — which switched this year to kicking off rising juniors rather than rising sophomores — kicked off seven students. Sid Room Draw Coordinator Scott Hersey, a junior, said the low number is due to the large number of students who voluntarily moved off-campus.

Jones College forced off three students, and Will Rice College forced off two students — both similar figures to last year’s.

Hanszen freshman Philip Pauerstein said it is not surprising that some colleges force off more students than others.

‘Different numbers of people are going to decide that they want to move off at each college,’ Pauerstein said. ‘That’s not something that you could predict.’

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