The University of Wisconsin campus and surrounding areas have seen a steady increase in living options for students in recent years, giving students various types of housing selections to choose from. However, with a recent influx of more “luxury” apartment high rises, the market prices have not noticeably lowered, but, in some cases, climbed.
Although UW housing is available for all students at a stable price, space permitting, and is generally occupied by freshmen, the university has heeded call to the demand for housing options with its East Campus Plan.
The East Campus Plan, which was unveiled last fall and is tentatively slated for 2008, will include tearing down Ogg Hall to make way for other construction projects. In addition, the initiative is planning for the construction of housing with bigger rooms and more bathrooms. These, according to Housing Director Paul Evans, will cost more money than current UW student housing that has smaller rooms.
Evans also said that before Ogg Hall is completely destroyed, the new housing project will begin construction to ensure that no beds are lost for residents, and after total completion of the plans, the net amount of overall beds will increase.
“Housing is predominately for freshmen,” Evans said, adding that older students are also welcome to stay in UW-owned dormitories.
Many UW students, such as sophomore Jolene Willms, move out of residence halls after their freshman year. Willms made such a move in order to have her own personal living space. She feels new housing built by UW could be a good marketing tool for incoming students, but she would not consider living there.
“As a freshman, [housing] can be what attracts you to a school,” Willms said. Willms also said that she probably pays the same for her apartment expenses as she did in the current, lower-cost UW housing.
Fellow UW student, freshman Colin Hackbarth, said the reason he is leaving UW housing is due to the “substantially” lower cost of an apartment.
Heather Shelton, a UW senior and housefellow in Kronshage Hall, does not agree with Willms. She said that the more expensive, new dormitories could separate students of unequal economic background.
“I don’t necessarily think it’s a good idea,” she said. Shelton, who has lived in university housing for all four years except for when she studied abroad, believes that more expensive housing will cause a rift between different classes of students.
She also believes out-of-state students may choose not to live in university housing because the price of tuition is already high. Shelton feels this is unfortunate because she believes living in university housing for a year helps in making friends and “learning the ropes” of the campus.
Evans, on the other hand, believes the new buildings will better ensure incoming freshmen spots to live in university housing.
“The more choice for housing we have, the better,” Evans said. “We want to make it so those freshmen who want to live with us can live with us.”
Al Fish, vice-chancellor of facilities, planning and management, said in a previous interview that he feels students, and especially students’ parents, would be willing to pay the extra money for the proposed dormitories, mainly because of the affiliation with UW and the larger rooms.