Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Volume: 101 Issue: 24
NEWS | Page 6 &7
LIFE | Page 5
Photos capture international festival and campus opera
Senior describes life after upgrading to smartphone for the first time
Full House High enrollment and Varnado remodel prompts university to shift off-campus policy Varnado Hall will close temporarly this fall semester for a complete remodel, signficantly lowering dorm capacity on campus at a time when enrollment is again on the rise. Photos by Steven Sheerin
DAMIAN GLOVER & EMILY FONTENOT
I
Staff Writer & Editor-in-Chief
n order to live off campus, students were in the past required to submit extensive documentation and gain committee approval. Now, the process looks much different. With the enrollment significantly on the rise for fall semester, campus housing is changing its tune and actively encouraging students to take the off campus route.
Sunday, for the first time ever, the university held an off-campus housing fair that gave around 200 students in attendance the opportunity to interact with local property owners. The push toward alternative housing is also in part driven by the fact that Varnado Hall will no longer be able to house the overflow from University Place 1 and 2 and Columns fall semester due to extensive renovations set to bring the aging building up to code. Vice president of student government association, Chantasia Grasty, believes that
moving off campus will not only leave more room for future Demons on campus, but also give upperclassman the chance to live independently. “Once students reach their junior or senior year of college, they are looking for ways to grow and one of those ways is living on their own and of course having more space,” Grasty said. “Living off campus in an environment they control allows them to do those things.” Vice President of Student Experience Dr. Chris Maggio believes that Sunday’s event
effectively helped bring those in need of housing and those in need of tenants together. Every spring, upperclassmen are looking to get
stop-shop style event. Providing this service to students now falls within university interests, paving the way for a more
“Once students reach their junior or senior year of
college, they are looking for ways to grow... Living off campus in an environment they control allows them to do those things.” - SGA Vice President Chantasia Grasty
out of their lease in order to have their own space and save a little money, and this enabled them to review all their options in a one-
seamless transition to independent life for upperclassman after they experience all the quirks of dorm life.