McCormick Hall, a residence hall notorious for its cramped rooms and brimming population, became a little more congested after incoming transfer students were temporarily placed in makeshift lounges-turned-dorm rooms, following an influx of sophomore transfers.
It is unclear what caused the overbooking, but Sean Berthold, assistant director for housing services, said the university is working with the Office of Residence Life to ensure quick placement into permanent housing for these new students.
“We were able to place some of the students in permanent housing before move-in,” Berthold said, “and are currently working with less than 20 students to find other spaces on campus.”
Berthold said these students would eventually be placed into permanent housing spaces as the semester progresses. These spaces become available after “no-shows,” which is when students do not attend Marquette after paying their housing deposit, creating a vacancy.
For the transfer students, however, this means packing up and moving again during the course of the semester. Lauren Hudon, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences and transfer student living in one of the impromptu dorm rooms at McCormick, said she is not thrilled with the idea.
“It’s just weird, having to pack up half-way into the year to move to a completely different dorm with a completely different roommate,” Hudon said.
When she found out at the end of June, she contemplated living at home and commuting. Her family is from the Milwaukee area, so she felt she had other options. The university offered lower rates to her for housing expenses though, so she decided to give it a chance.
Hudon said the university was not entirely explicit about the accommodations she would receive when she moved in. She said she was under the impression that they would have a full closet in her room, but was instead presented with two mobile clothing racks.
When she asked about the situation, she said her residence assistant told her she would not need a closet because she would not be residing there for too long.
“But we could be here the whole semester, potentially,” Hudon said.
In all, Hudon said the incident has not ruined her time at Marquette. “I mean, what can [the university] really do?” she asked. “And anyway, no dorm is ideal.”
Hudon is hopeful her permanent dorm will be Carpenter.
“If I live there, I think it will be easy to branch out and meet people in my situation,” she said. “I’m still excited about it.”
