Due to a lack of space on Main Campus, 12 transfer students, all women, are currently living in converted lounges in Keyes Hall on Newton Campus, according to Greg Jones, the director of housing operations. The Office of Residential Life converted these lounges into makeshift rooms by permanently locking one door and installing a lock on the other.
At the beginning of the the placement process, these transfer students were notified that the University was at full capacity, but they would still have housing for the 2018-2019 academic year. In return, they were guaranteed housing senior year. Traditionally, transfer students only receive enough guaranteed housing for their first academic year and live in the dorms on College Road.
“They will be offered spaces on the Chestnut Hill Campus as they become available, and we anticipate being able to offer all students new assignments for spring semester, if not sooner,” Jones said.
According to Autumn Hauser, MCAS ’21, one of the transfer students living in Keyes, they were told about their housing situation via email on Aug. 17, a week before their scheduled move-in. Until that point, the only information they had received was that all dorms were at 100 percent capacity, but they would be provided housing.
Despite the strange start, Hauser said that living in the lounges is better than she expected.
“It’s strange being in a converted lounge of a freshman dorm, but it’s turned out to be a really nice room,” she said. “Knowing that by my senior year I won’t feel like a transfer student anymore since I will be living on campus with all of the four-year students is definitely worth it.”
Featured Image by Celine Lim / Heights Editor
