Study lounges are used for those admitted last toBSU
Lounges on campus are used for more than just studying.
Currently, 36 students live in residence-hall lounges acrosscampus, down from 90 at the start of the fall semester. They areliving temporarily in the rooms until other rooms are available,according to the Housing and Residence Life office.
The students in the lounge were the last students admitted toBall State, Alan Hargrave, director of Housing and Residence Life,said. The date when the student was admitted determines who willmove out next.
"The date of admission is an easily accessible date for us sincethe housing application is tied with the admissions application,"Hargrave said. "Some people may not think it's the fair way to doit, but you have to assign priority to something you can pinon."
Ball State requires all freshmen to live on campus unless theyare married, at least 21 or commute.
As a cancellation or opening occurs in a double room, Housingand Residence Life contacts students in lounges to tell them wheretheir new home is located.
"We don't want to turn anyone away, but if a freshman can't liveon campus and they can't live at home with their parents, then theycan't come to school," Hargrave said.
Students waiting on the list are now dependent on those wholeave their rooms.
"They are just temporary, maybe for a week or two until studentsstart ... I hate to say it ... dropping out of residences halls sothey can fill those positions," Moses Malone, president of RHA,said.
Currently, the number of those who have left their lounges hasstagnated.
"You wouldn't drop out for academic reasons, I don't think, twoweeks into the semester," Malone said. "It's just not going tohappen."
Students sometimes leave the residence halls because they findit's not what they expected or they are not comfortable there,Malone said.
"In a perfect world, everybody that's going to Ball State thisyear doesn't drop out," Malone said. "They stay in their room. Theyhave a great time, have a great first semester and all get A's.
"That's a possibility, but is it likely? No."
Once a week, the list of openings is calculated. Students inlounges are contacted with their new addresses and given four daysto move into their new rooms.
Students were given information if they needed help moving theirgear.
The only time students can refuse the move is if it is to amore-expensive hall, Hargrave said.
He said all students in the temporary housing are paying $5,880for a regular two-person double room. A room in Studebaker Westwould cost an additional $184.
After Nov. 1 students have the option to stay in their loungesfor the rest of the semester, but they must move to their assignedroom at the beginning of the spring semester, Hargrave said.
The number of students in the lounges can range between four tosix students, depending on where the lounge is located.
Hargrave said the residence hall tries to make it as close to aregular room as possible. The hall furnishes desks, wardrobes anddrawers. The lounge must have a window and a lock on the door forsafety purposes.
Hargrave said he remembers more than 400 students living intemporary housing in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Today, Hargrave said, 200 people could be accommodatedcomfortably.
"The use of study lounges as a temporary accommodation is a verycommon practice in universities across the country," Hargravesaid.
Although some students might want to stay in their lounges,Hargrave said all students currently in study lounges will be movedto a new room by next semester.
"The study lounge is there for studying. That's what it's for,"Malone said. "We don't want to have people in there living anddepriving the other students of a study space. That's why we'retrying to replace them (students in the lounge) as soon aspossible."
Thirty-six students live in the lounges inresidence halls
First impressions can be deceiving.
"Everybody, I think, before they actually lived in herefor maybe a week, thought it was going to suck just because it hasthe word ‘temporary' in front of it, and they know theyhave to move again, and that's a pain in the butt, butit's great," freshman Nick Makridakis said.
Currently, 36 students reside in study lounges across campus,Alan Hargrave, the director of Housing and Residence Life, said.Hargrave said students living in the lounges are temporary untilstandard rooms open up in other residence halls. Students living inthe lounges were the last students admitted to Ball State.
Makridakis lives on the second-floor lounge in Studebaker Westwith one roommate. Two of his former roommates have already moved.His high school turned his transcript in late, which led to a lateadmittance.
"I can't really think of any disadvantages,"Makridakis said. "As long as you can stand being with more peoplethan one more, you're fine."
Freshman roommates Rick Swim and Carlos Velazquez, who alsoreside in a Studebaker West lounge, said life in the lounge is notas inconvenient as some might think.
"It's not too bad," Velazquez said. "There'sair-conditioning and carpeting and a lot of space."
Both Swim and Velazquez changed their plans and signed up late.Swim was originally going to commute, while Velazquez was planningto go to another institution.
A lounge containing four students is equal to two double rooms,Alan Hargrave, director of Housing and Residence Life, said.
"They told us before that most students don't wantto move out of temporary housing because it's great.It's so big," Makridakis said. "I don'twant to move out."
Students were notified of their temporary housing fate beforethey arrived at Ball State.
Swim said he didn't know how many roommates he would haveor what each would be bringing before he arrived on campus.
"I guess it just turned out well that we had just onefridge and microwave and one TV," Swim said.
Velazquez and Swim had two more roommates, but one moved intoanother hall.
"They told us that we were all on a list, and as housingbecame available and people would not show up or leave or quitschool or whatever, they'd move us into permanenthousing," Makridakis said.
Unexpected visits from students looking to escape their sharedrooms are common for those in the lounge.
"A lot of people get confused, and they kind of crack openthe door like, ‘I told you people live in here,' likeit's some kind of a ghost story or something, and then theyrun off," Makridakis said.
Students are unsure of when their time in the lounge willterminate.
"They said that they were not sure," Velazquez said."As far as they know, I could be here all year. That'swhat they told me."
The common drawback some previous loungers share is the movefrom the people they developed friendships with during the firstweeks of school.
Freshman Amanda Brewer, who is from Canada, said she likes hernew room in Beeman/DeMotte Hall but the transition was a littledifficult.
"You get comfortable with the people you first live with,"Brewer said. "It's kind of hard moving into a new place whereeveryone already knows each other."
Freshman Jon Adkins, who recently moved out of his four-personlounge in the Johnson complex, said the move was an inconveniencebecause he moved to a new hall.
He plans to spend time with the people who still live inJohnson.
"I'll be back to visit whenever I can," Adkins said.
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