Rumors have been flying about plans to build a new dorm on campus because of the increasing size of the incoming first-year classes. The Wooster student body is expanding at a rapid rate, reflecting the College’s growing popularity and its break-out from being one of the nations “best-kept secrets.”
While this expansion is largely positive, finding enough housing with the current residential facilities is becoming an increasing problem. This was felt by students across campus as housing was all but turned upside down due to the size of the current first-year class. Most notably was the conversion of Bissman Hall, which was once the home of the clubs and sections, into a first-year dorm, which moved the Greeks into program houses for the first time.
There has been much speculation about the size of the incoming class in the new dorm. Rumors about the size of the class of 2015 have been as low as 200 to as high as 600.
However, Director of Admissions Scott Friedhoff has stated that† the class of 2015 is currently budgeted to have 560 students. While the new class will not be as daunting as the class of 2014, their size is still bound to cause some problems, considering the graduating senior class has only slightly over 400 students.
Housing this year, in terms of housing assignments as well as room draw, has already been stressful for many. The addition of extra students to an already crowded campus is making the Master Planning Committee seriously consider the addition of a new dorm.
After talking to a variety of students, there were mixed reactions to adding a new residence hall to campus. Emily Frank ’14 was overjoyed at the thought of having enough space to hold the growing number of accepted students.
Other first-years were indifferent, which mostly seemed to be due to the fact that the new residence hall is said to be for first-years, none of the students available for questioning will be first-years by the time the new dorm is built. Many other students on campus hadn’t heard about this new undertaking.
There were some student concerns about the new dorm, including questions about where it would be built, when it would be started and when it would reach completion. These questions cannot be answered as of yet, but the 2010-2011 school year priority statement (which can be found on the school website) said:
“We will begin three other projects that will inform our longer-term planning and resource allocation decisions.† We will commission an update to our Campus Facilities Master Plan.”
The plan details: “Our current master plan was last updated in 2006-07 and has been guiding our campus stewardship and development since that time. With the Scot Center project well underway, it is time to do a comprehensive assessment of our facilities needs and priorities. A central element of this process will be a comprehensive plan for student residences, tuned to the size of the College and our residential life philosophy.”
Nothing can be said for certain at this point since the Master Planning Committee is still planning, but the chances of gaining a new residential facility in the near future have potential.
