This article has been updated to include more diverse sourcing.
With the anticipation of a newly renovated residence hall opening for the 2017-18 academic year, Housing and Residence Life will be exploring new and old ways to accommodate Ohio University students.
Jefferson Hall will be a first-year residence hall, Tanaka Hall will become a mixed residence hall, and Luchs Hall will become a second-year residence hall for the 2017-18 academic year, Jneanne Hacker, director for business operations and conference services, said.
Currently under renovation, Jefferson Hall is expected to open in August. For the 2016-17 academic year, Tanaka Hall houses first-year students and Luchs Hall is a mixed residence hall.
“As we explore ways to create the best overall experience and support for the first and second-year students required to reside on campus, we continually reflect upon data and student feedback to shape our residential program,” Hacker said in an email.
Returning students prefer suite-style options rather than traditional style accommodations, Hacker said.
“To support the developmental needs and interests of our students, Jefferson Hall will be a first-year experience hall with no specialized living experience, and we will offer 239 additional suite style spaces to our returning students in which was of high interest and demand,” Hacker said in an email.
Sky Wittenberg, a freshman Tanaka resident studying psychology, does not think those changes are fair.
“I think Tanaka should not still be a freshmen hall because upperclassmen will get screwed out of all the good housing opportunities,” Wittenberg, said.
Students, similar to last year's process, will be assigned a random selection date and time and will be able to select a room during the second-year room selection process once they have met the Feb. 17 application deadline. The room selection process for first-year students begins May 15, according to Housing and Residence Life.
"With the increased number of specialized living experiences and class-delineated halls, Housing and Residence Life no longer offers a same hall room selection experience," Hacker said in an email.
Housing and Residence Life will, however, provide students the option to return to the same specialized living experience, Hacker said.
“Students currently living in a women’s leadership (Voigt) or substance free (Shively) living experience hall will be able to select back into the same hall,” Hacker said in an email. “In addition, students currently residing in a first-year scholarship hall (Johnson) or quiet study hall (Perkins) will be able to select into a similar living experience in a second-year scholarship hall (Read) or quiet study hall (Bryan).”
Some other changes to residence halls on campus regarding learning communities will also occur.
Housing and Residence Life will be offering an option for those students in the communication learning community to continue their living and learning experience for a second year in MacKinnon Hall, Hacker said.
"I think it will be cool because students with the same majors will be able to stay together and learn with each other," Kayleigh Stelling, a freshman studying games and animation, said.
OU will also offer a second-year social justice specialized living experience in Wilson Hall, Hacker said.
