By Emily Harris
Elm Staff Writer
It’s never a promising thing when your dorm room is so full of furniture that you can’t open the door. Unfortunately, that is exactly what I encountered upon my arrival at Washington College. It was move-in day, stifling hot, about to rain, and suddenly fitting three people into that room just didn’t seem like a good idea. However, the Residential Life staff at Washington College didn’t have much of a choice; the school had taken on over one hundred more students than it could house. They were forcing triples, and even quads, not just in our dorm but in others as well. Freshman overcrowding was definitely taking its toll.
My roommates and I learned all of this from many conversations with our area director throughout our first few weeks on campus. I understood why it was happening, and I even thought we could make it work…for about a week. It became a running joke between the three of us that we had to take turns breathing because there wasn’t enough oxygen in our cramped space. Before long we realized someone had to move out, or we would probably bite each other’s heads off.
We worked with our RA, our area director, and I don’t even know who else to make it happen. It got a little bit stressful for a while, but as soon as space opened up one of my roommates moved out. The whole situation definitely put a damper on the first few weeks of my freshman year, but I don’t think there was anything else that could have been done. I give Residential Life a lot of credit for working with us and listening to all of our complaints. They handled the situation the only way they could, and in the end they fixed the problem. Things are better for now, but what happens next year when another freshman class comes along? What happens if their class is even bigger than this year’s? I’m glad these are someone else’s problems to sort out, because I know just how difficult it is to deal with them.
Overcrowding comes with negative connotations, but that isn’t the only way I look at. Meredith O’Connell, transfer student and my former roomie, was ecstatic that she was accepted to WC at the last minute. “I know I’m one of those extra people causing overcrowding, who was let in at the last minute. And I’m so glad. I know it caused inconvenience for some wonderful people, but I am so happy, so thrilled to be here, so I can’t say anything bad about WC letting a few extra people in when I’m one of those people!” Fact is, more people are coming to Washington College because more people are realizing how awesome it is. This is great for the school, but not so great for the students if they have nowhere to live.
My thought is that freshmen shouldn’t be the only ones blamed for overcrowding. While the freshman class is a clear and easy target, the student body as a whole influences overcrowding, depending on how many upperclassmen move off campus, how many transfer students are accepted, etc. But mostly, freshmen are to blame.
I think that if the school is going to continue letting more and more people in each year, we need more dorms. Obviously this solution is easier said than done, but it’s necessary. Hopefully some funds and space will come along to give current and future students a cozy new home. And if all else fails, plant a dollar bill and see if we really can make money grow on trees.