This year, the university admitted more males than ever. Though this is great for increasing diversity on campus, TCU failed to properly prepare for these students’ arrival.Fall 2007 marks the first semester in which both freshman and sophomore students are required to live on campus. With this in mind, it seems only logical that there should be enough housing for all freshman and sophomore students – no matter their gender.
Still there are 20 students without fixed housing and all of them are male.
The female-to-male ratio has historically been 60-40, said Mindy Hollan, assistant director of housing assignments, and the dorm situation – five all-female halls, two all-male halls and three coed halls – reflected that. Now, the number of male freshmen admitted this semester has changed the ratio to 58-42. Although two of the all-female halls – Waits and Wiggins – have been converted to coed dorms, three female-only dorms remain. There are currently zero all-male residence halls.
David Cooper, associate director for residential living, said there are vacancies in some all-female and upperclassmen dorms. However, since these displaced students do not meet the criterion for these halls, Cooper said, they cannot move into the vacant rooms.
TCU should have converted more female dorms into coed halls to cope with the influx of male residents. Admitting students for whom there is not physically room is inexcusable.
The two new residence halls built this summer, Amon G. Carter Hall and Kellye Wright Samuelson Hall, don’t even alleviate the problem. Both halls are for upperclassmen.
Because TCU was ill-prepared for its entering class, a number of students are left in limbo: living in study rooms with no windows, locks or privacy. Freshmen students have a hard enough time adjusting to being away from home, this only worsens their load.
Increasing diversity on campus is ideal, but when it comes at a cost of students’ comfort, maybe TCU should rethink its priorities.
Managing Editor Aly Fleet for the editorial board.
