This year’s housing assignment switch from a generally seniority-based system to one catering to the new sophomore residency requirement called for a change in the Department of Housing and Residence Life’s protocol and procedures.

“It was territory we hadn’t really been in in previous years,” Director of Housing and Res. Life Alvin Sturdivant said.
Under the new process, there is a separate system for incoming sophomores, since they are guaranteed housing, and then another system for incoming juniors and seniors. Priority was taken within the context of the students’ particular group, based on average GPA and credit hours.
“From that perspective, going back to the requirement that exists for freshmen and sophomores, it made sense that we would have a separate system that would give us the ability to house all those current freshmen, soon-to-be sophomores, and would establish a priority for those juniors and seniors in accordance to all other juniors and seniors,” Sturdivant said.
From there, Sturdivant said one of the most important steps prior to housing appointments was to ensure that there were enough spots on campus for incoming sophomores, which was determined based on the number of incoming sophomores who signed up for housing. Although The Village is considered premium housing, Sturdivant said that, in order to have enough room on campus for upperclassmen, it was necessary to open up spots for incoming sophomores there, and in other apartment complexes as well. Space was also opened up in Griesedieck, Clemens and Walsh in order to leave more apartment options open for later appointments.
Sturdivant said he could absolutely understand why some upperclassmen students were frustrated with the way things turned out, and encouraged them to get in contact with him or others in Housing and Res. Life to try to sort out their issues as best as possible. However, when it came to the housing process, he said he had to work within the parameters of the situation he was in.
“I was working within … the reality that I have to house all freshmen and I have to house all sophomores,” he said. “What that may eventually mean for us as an institution is we may need to be thinking about what we do with our juniors and seniors in terms of housing.”
Particularly since incoming classes are growing, as more freshmen and sophomores are living at SLU, fewer on-campus spots will be available to upperclassmen. Sturdivant said that at this time, he wasn’t aware of any plans to build a new residence hall.
When asked if incoming sophomores would be able to squat in their apartments for several years, Sturdivant said the squatting policy was undergoing review, and may or may not turn out to be feasible depending on the numbers of students trying to squat.
Another issue within all of this is the fact that, according to Assistant Director for Student Financial Services Tim Hercules, 35 percent of students at SLU have a $2,000 on-campus housing scholarship. Some upperclassmen with later appointments felt that they were being forced into the Flats, which does not allow students to use their housing scholarships because the building is managed, not owned, by SLU. Sturdivant said he disagreed with the term “forced” into the Flats.
“Not being satisfied with options that are available does not equate to being forced. Does it feel like that? Yes, I don’t dispute that,” he said. “But we’re not making any student that does not want to live there, live there. … Not liking those options doesn’t alleviate the fact that this is a choice.”
As for next year, Hercules has confirmed that students living in the Flats with housing scholarships will receive an equivalent amount of financial aid through other means, just not specifically as the housing scholarship. Through an arrangement with the owners of the Flats, a $1,000 discount will be taken out for all SLU students living in the Flats next year.
SLU will also award a $1,000 grant to students living in the Flats who would’ve had a housing scholarship. At this point, this is planned to be effective only for the 2010-2011 academic year, though Hercules said that could change.
Other upperclassmen who signed up to live in a residence hall such as Fusz or Marguerite have been contacted and made aware of this offer, so if the new Flats funding option makes it available to them, they’ll be able to switch to the Flats, Sturdivant said.
For years, some students have chosen to forego their housing scholarship and live off campus anyway. However, as the number of students living on campus increases but the number of spots stays the same, housing is only guaranteed for freshmen and sophomores, Sturdivant said.
The scholarship was created in the 2005-06 school year to provide an incentive for students to live on campus, since there were empty spaces. However, according to Sturdivant, this has not been an issue for some time, and in fact, has tilted the other way instead, and as a result, he said SLU may need to be looking at the housing scholarship and whether it remains a logical tool in the future.
Currently, the University plans to continue offering scholarships split into academic (tuition) and housing portions, though it’s something that is reviewed each year, Hercules said. Vice President for Student Development Kent Porterfield also said that SLU planned to look into the issue and whether it still made sense in today’s context.
As far as sophomore residency is concerned, Porterfield said the policy will remain in place, as he believes that “students living in on-campus housing allows for more contact with the students and we are able to address any issues.” 
Some students who spoke at a March 29 Student Government Association Residence Affairs Committee Meeting said they had been unaware that the Flats came with a 12-month housing contract and that their scholarship did not apply. Sturdivant said that part of SLU’s agreement with the Flats was that they would occupy it 12 months of the year, and that students in the Flats who don’t need housing in the summer would have the option to sublease their apartment.
Sturdivant maintained that these issues with the Flats were communicated to students. Housing and Res. Life first announced the Flats in a student-wide email in December, and then confirmed the deal in an email on Jan. 27, which also confirmed that housing scholarships would not be applicable and 12-month contracts were part of the deal.
Students unhappy with their housing situation can still sign up for the reassignment list, which does not make any guarantees, but with a little patience, has a fairly high success rate in years past because of cancellations, Sturdivant said. He also said that students with concerns were welcome to contact him.
“I don’t want to minimize what anyone’s feeling; I do empathize, and I’m willing to sit down and talk to or exchange emails with students and parents,” he said. “But at the end of the day, I think there has to be some attention given to what our current reality is, and our current reality is we do have a residency requirement.”
Porterfield also echoed the fact that he could understand why some students were frustrated with the outcome, but pointed out that regardless of the situation, that was always bound to happen.
“There [are] some changes that we can make but there’s no way, at least that I can perceive, to make everyone happy with an arrangement,” he said.
Rumors were also brought up at the SGA Committee meeting that Griesedieck and Reinert rooms will be converted to increase occupancy. “Fifteen or 16” rooms in Griesedieck (including Walsh and Clemens) will be converted to triples, Sturdivant said, but only those that are larger than the rest and technically already suited for triple occupancy, though they’ve only been doubles up until now. Reinert occupancy is not changing, Sturdivant said.
As for next year’s housing process, Sturdivant said it’s far too early to say if anything will be changed after issues some students had with it this year, but he said they are certainly open to feedback and will continue to work with SGA on it.
Additional reporting by Sean Worley.