Freshman Tonya Rhodes said she’s just fine with her accommodations at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse campus — even though she’s living in a White Hall study lounge with three other students.

A couple wardrobes divide the four beds in the lounge from the “living area” that has been outfitted with a couch, television set and a couple of refrigerators.

Tonya Rhodes, left, and Karen Poliarco hang out in their dorm room at White Hall on the UW-La Crosse campus. Their dorm room is a converted study lounge because of over crowding. Erik Daily

While Rhodes has no complaints, she thinks a recent proposal to add one or two new residence halls sounds like a good idea.

“I mean, I like this place,” she said, “but other people need a place to study.”

Six of the 11 residential halls now have students living in lounges, a reflection of having about 60 to 70 more students than space available, said Nick Nicklaus, director of resident life.

And the planned demolition of Baird and Trowbridge residential halls in June 2009 to make way for a new academic building will displace about 400 students, said Bob Hetzel, vice chancellor for administration and finance.

It led UW-L to submit a

$49 million proposal to the UW System to replace those 400 beds and possibly add 100 more by building one or two new residence halls.

UW-L’s project timeline is to plan in spring 2008, seek approval from the UW System Board of Regents and the state in 2009, begin construction as early as mid-2009 and have a building ready for students by 2010, Hetzel said.

That still will leave the campus short 400 beds from fall 2009 until at least fall 2010.

Chancellor Joe Gow said the previous administration planned the new academic building without “fully exploring what that meant for campus” housing.

UW-L officials now are trying to find solutions by forming a planning committee of faculty, staff and students, Gow said.

This committee not only will look at what to do while the campus has 400 fewer beds but also help plan a new residence hall and assess repairs and renovations needed at other campus housing, Hetzel said.

Possible short-term solutions are securing off-campus housing for upperclassmen, assigning two or three students per room or holding a lottery for older students who want to live on campus, Nicklaus said.

“There are a variety of options out there, and none are a wonderful solution,” Nicklaus said. “But we are going to have to, as an institution, decide what the best solution is that we can deal with for one year.”

Living on campus is an important experience, he said, not only for freshmen but also upperclassmen, who can serve as role models and leaders.

An annual study has shown students who live on campus have higher grade-point averages than those living off campus, Nicklaus said.

Freshmen now are required to live on campus if space is available, and about 96 percent do each year, Nicklaus said. That can make it a challenge to accommodate upperclassmen in the residence halls, he said.

“I hate to tell someone who wants to remain on campus that they can’t be here,” he said.

The planning committee also will look at how many residence halls might be needed, what designs would be best and where they might be built. They’ll use campus feedback and ideas from a conference they’ll attend in Orlando, Fla., that will highlight the most modern design ideas in residence halls, Nicklaus said.

The building outwardly likely will resemble Reuter Hall, Hetzel said, but have a different style of suites inside. “My sense is that it would complement Reuter,” he said.

KJ Lang can be reached at (608) 791-8226 or klang@lacrossetribune.com.

Advertisement