At first impression, a new dorm may seem rather sterile. The white masonry brick walls. Old, six-inch thick mattresses covered in plastic. And the roommate. Then there’s the roommate.
With more than 1,300 students moving into the residence halls today, the faster internet access, the digital cable system and the use of an off-campus apartment complex to house nearly 100 students avoiding overcrowding on campus, Director of Housing Michael Mills said he and his staff are ready to assist the students.
“We want to roll out the welcome mat and make sure that everybody feels welcome,” Mills said.
Mills said the housing department advises students who attended Spirit Days to check in today due to the increasing size of the freshman class.
“We’ve seen at least 100 to 150 more requests for university housing than we have over the last two or three years,” Mills said. “Our freshman enrollment numbers are projected to be up considerably from the last two years, and that makes sense with all the requests for housing.”
Despite the large number of incoming residents, Mills said he encourages anyone who needs assistance to contact the housing department but suggested students with a minor issue like needing a bed adjustment might wait until the initial rush of move-in day dies down.
“We’re going to try and address as many students as we can,” Mills said. “With that being said, we’ll have to prioritize based on there being 1,300 students moving in and only two maintenance staff members.”
Mills said the housing department is proud of a few changes they have been working on since last semester so they would be ready for students coming this fall.
“…[W]e’ve completed our Internet upgrade,” Mills said. “Prior to this year, we only had wired Internet in the rooms, and it was very slow.”
Mills said the new Internet service has seven times the bandwidth than the previous year’s service, along with some other perks.
“Students now have both wired and wireless access,” Mills said. “There’s a full 24-hour customer service dedicated specifically to Midwestern, and they’ll even help you set up your Xboxes or whatever else you need.”
Mills said the television services offered to residents have received an upgrade as well.
“Prior to this year, we had regular cable,” Mills said. “This year we’ve upgraded to digital cable, which increases the picture for all channels, and we’re also able to offer 12 channels in HD while going from 60 channels to 99 channels.”
Along with these quality of life upgrades, Mills said the housing department has begun a new partnership this fall with the Grove apartments located on Southwest Parkway.
“This is the first semester we’ve used the Grove,” Mills said. “We needed to accommodate as many students as possible, and the Grove was able to give us 93 beds.”
That amounts to 31 three-bedroom and three-bath apartments allocated specifically for MSU residents.
“All the furniture is already in the apartment, and all the utilities are already set up,” Mills said. “It’s very similar to Sunwatcher.”
With the recent rises in enrollment, Mills said Midwestern would need the additional off-campus housing provided by the Grove.
“As long as applications continue to go up, I would imagine that we’ll be looking for a long term partner,” Mills said.
Resident assistants add personality
Mills and some of his resident assistants also offered some advice for students who want to start their life in the dorms on the right foot.
“The dorm room essential is that you’ve got to make it your own,” Mills said. “Make it your own, make it comfortable and get to know your roommate.”
RA for Pierce Hall and nursing student Shane Statham said it’s important for residents to not only get to know their roommate, but their fellow hall mates as well.
“Don’t just settle for the first person you meet. Really just get out and meet people,” Statham said. “This is an important time, and it’s a fun time as well.”
While everyone has a different idea of a fun time, Statham said it’s much easier to stay connected with campus life—as long as students seize the opportunity.
“Don’t lock yourself in your room and play Call of Duty for eight hours,” Statham said. “There are so many good opportunities to enjoy life in the dorms.”
Statham said his favorite part of being an RA is being able to help new students while also bonding with them.
“I really enjoy being able to build that relationship with residents and being able to watch them grow,” Statham said, “(and) to help them in this crucial stage in their life.”
McCullough-Trigg Assistant Hall Director and junior in chemistry Heather Baker said students should find an organization that they would like to get involved in.
“As I started to get more involved in the Honors program, I enjoyed it more,” Baker said. “The more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it.”
Baker said being an resident assistant is a lot of fun because of all the relationships created in residence halls.
“You get to know a lot of people, you get to build relationships with people because that’s basically your job,” Baker said. “It gives you a good support system.”
CORRECTION: An earlier version of the caption on the photo with this story had Duncan Mayer’s name incorrectly spelled. It also stated he moved in Wednesday. Indeed, he moved in Tuesday, Aug. 20. The Wichitan regrets the errors.
