By Alexander Daniels
Originally published in Dog Street Journal's November 2019 issue.
Starting with the Class of ’23, all sophomores will be required to live in on-campus housing according to a new policy set forth by Residence Life. This new requirement aims to combat the effects of “sophomore slump” through outreach programming, similar in fashion to the structured events that many will remember from their freshman year. Though this initiative is aimed specifically at the sophomore class, it is likely to impact all students regardless of social class.
The “sophomore slump” can be defined as a feeling of dissatisfaction or doubt with one’s self or with the university they are attending. It can occur when the novelty of freshman year wears off, and, for many of us, may exacerbate existing mental health challenges. William & Mary plans to help ease sophomores through this phase by establishing the “Sophomore Experience Program,” a new office similar to the Office of First Year Experience. The new housing requirement is an extension of this program, which is expected to provide a level of additional support for W&M sophomores.
According to Maggie Evans, the Associate Vice President for Campus Living, the decision to require sophomores to live on campus is not a new debate:
“The topic of two-year residency requirement has bubbled up many times over the past 20 years, but was never acted upon due to either a lack of housing options or programmatic support and resources. When the Office of First Year Experience was established in 2013, staff members quickly began hearing that the current level of first-year student support created a gap of resources and programming for those returning for a second year.”
This requirement is not unique to William & Mary. Of the academic institutions that the College considers peers — as Evans defines, those “who recruit a similar student applicant pool or challenge us in the ranking”— many have a sophomore on-campus living requirement. For example, Wake Forest University and Vanderbilt University both currently have this requirement, and the University of Virginia is considering implementing a sophomore living requirement as well.
Historically, the College houses 75% of sophomores on campus, and, as Associate Vice President Evans assures, will be able to accommodate the extra 25% within the current housing structure. However, there is some concern among upperclassmen regarding how this transition will affect housing, especially among those impacted by the housing confusion that took place last year.
For the uninitiated: students living on-campus during the 2018-2019 academic year encountered difficulty due to a myriad of factors. First, Landrum Hall underwent renovation, and was projected to be ready for residents by the 2018 fall semester. However, the construction was extended, and students who had selected to live in Landrum for the 2018-2019 year were not able to move in until January 2019.
“It was definitely frustrating not being able to rely on what we were told about move-in. I believe we were told that we could move in to Landrum by the end of September at the latest, and that date kept getting pushed back as the semester went on. It was just stressful not being able to have a plan for moving all our furniture.” – Ziyan Chen, ’21
More confusion followed as the process to acquire on-campus housing changed, now requiring students to coordinate their entire room or suite at the time of their sign-on, though the option to view available rooms was not accessible before sign-on. The housing deposit was also eliminated, but, as stated in the housing contract, if a student wished to cancel their housing they would be charged a cancellation fee numbering in hundreds to thousands of dollars. Additionally, a number of housing options became unavailable to upperclassmen.
At the close of the spring 2019 semester, Residence Life shuttered One Tribe Place for renovations, converted Lemon Hall from an upperclassman dorm into a freshman dorm, and switched Jefferson Hall from a freshmen to upperclassmen dorm. When these factors compounded, many students experienced displacement into housing options different from the ones they indicated, such as Dupont, the Randolph Complex, and far-flung Richmond Hall.
While there is concern towards how the new sophomore housing requirement will impact upperclassmen, many freshmen are unbothered. It is undeniable that there is a good deal of convenience that comes with living on campus. For many, living on campus eliminates the need to grocery shop, cook meals, and commute, which goes hand-in-hand with negotiating the tricky parking situation on campus. As stated by current freshman, Casey Kim ’23:
“I like the accessibility of living on campus, I was planning on staying on campus either way. I have thought about living off campus for convenience’s sake, and not having to deal with the fallbacks of living in a college dorm, but the benefits outweigh the cost and I’d rather live on campus my sophomore year.”
Of course, the decision to require sophomores to live on-campus does take away a measure of autonomy from the individual. The students who are not in accord with the new requirement cite the expense of on-campus housing, in tandem with having to subscribe to a meal plan. The expense for room and board can total to over $7,000, which, in combination with tuition, fees, and other yearly expenses, can put quite a bit of strain on an individual. Augie Kalytiak-Davis, ’22, shares this viewpoint:
“Mandating on-campus housing for sophomores shows a basic disregard for individual freedom of the student, and thus contradicts the very mission of our school.”
The Sophomore Experience Program is expected to be a successful initiative put forth by the College, combatting the effects of sophomore slump and offering a greater deal of support to an often-overlooked social class. As some experience anxiety towards how this change will impact students at all levels, Associate Vice President Evans offers her experience:
“I’ve worked in university housing for more than 29 years, and year after year I witness new first year students experience high levels of stress and anxiety in their first weeks on campus feeling pressured about where they planned to live next year. This is not how new students need to be spending their time…You only get to experience university life once, so we want to offer the best on campus experience we can for our first and second year students, and hope it is so good they choose to stick around for years three and four.”