Ole Miss Students are Moving Up and Out

Martin Hall, one of the freshmen dormitories.

The number of enrolled students is on the rise and Ole Miss is running out of room, literally. 

In the fall of 2013 student enrollment was up 758 students, totaling out to be 3,579 freshmen on campus. This upcoming fall semester is no different; numbers are still rising as the 2014-2015 academic term approaches. There are already 2,254 members on the Class of 2018 Facebook page, and that number increases daily. 

With the enrollment growth, there has been many demands placed on the University as they try to adjust and expand for students. To name a few, parking and dining have already started to present themselves as issues that need correcting.

Several students that have already lived on campus as freshman are hoping to remain living on campus as long as they can. Sacrificing your own bathroom, kitchen and laundry room may seem to be a bit absurd to some, but the convenience many students find in walking out of their dorm and straight to class, as well as constantly being surrounded by friends, is a sacrifice they are willing to make. 

Freshmen Annie Owen says "I think being able to live on campus and not have to commute here every morning for class is better than having your own room".

Rising sophomores entered their second semester this past January, many with roommate plans for Crosby Hall, were stopped in their tracks as Ole Miss Housing announced that there was no longer room to house students other than freshmen on campus. This is not the first year Ole Miss has run into this issue; it happened two years ago. Needless to say, the University cannot seem to keep up with the growth. 

Community Assistant Kristin Hogans discusses the effects an increased number of students has had on housing. 

This housing issue adds more financial strain on parents who are now spending an average of $4,500 moreover their original tuition to accommodate their students living. After this announcement it didn’t take long before many apartment complexes - The Hub at Oxford, Molly Barr Trails and Faulkner Flats  - to immediately reserve space for students to book rooms through their Greek organization. 

While the housing issue on campus is not beneficial to many of the students, Oxford has found a new opportunity to grow its community. In the past six months, the city has issued nearly $65,000,000 in housing permits. The new construction for apartments and homes, seems to be driven by the increase of students needing places to live.

George Walker, local builder and developer, says that “The demand for off-campus living has increased community growth and allows for new construction.”