CL, 3/15/07: College Board approves USM's plan for another dorm on campus - USM Forum -- Message Board

info · Status: Offline

CL, 3/15/07: College Board approves USM's plan for another dorm on campus

asdf · Status: Offline

I'm sorry, but I don't follow. Do we need a new dorm because of increasing enrollment or a modern dorm because the existing ones are old? We didn't need the bedrooms in Bond Hall and Wilbur will soon be free. And does increasing enrollment (by the way, what are the figures on that) mean increased need for campus housing, given all of the new apartment options in Hattiesburg? I think the campus master plan called for tearing down Elam Arms and Hillcrest. So what's the real reason? Why can't someone just come out and say something that would make more sense like, "Our dorms are aging and it is more cost effective to build a new dorm than renovate an existing one." Instead, this is being spun that USM is so popular we are just bursting at the seams.

Incredulous · Status: Offline

All indications are that Hattiesburg enrollment has been drifting downward for at least three years. Numbers are hard to come by, and numbers you can trust must await a new administraton.

Southern Belle · Status: Offline

I have it on very good authority that the dorms are not filled for spring 2007 semester. My understanding is that the dorms have not been filled for the past couple of years. I think the majority of the current dorms need to be remodeled and in a few cases, replaced completely.

Maybe, administration is basing their request on "If we build it, they will come" theory. If they build modern dorms, the students will come back to Southern Miss and fill them up. Kind of like, if we expand the football stadium, the fans will come. (Personally, I do not agree with this philosophy.)

stephen judd · Status: Offline

Check the fact book on the USM web site at

http://www.usm.edu/ir/Factbooks/2006_07/enrollment_by_semester_all.pdf

for information on 2006-07 enrollment.

Curt Yeomans · Status: Offline

Southern Belle wrote:

I think the majority of the current dorms need to be remodeled and in a few cases, replaced completely.

I will have to say that is certainly the case with Elam. They spent all of what, one summera few years back renovating a dorm that has been falling apart for years. I remember going up the stairs once and one of the steps was actually loose from it's holding (I could have picked the step up with no effort and taken it with me because it was that loose). When there was a fire in the elevator and the solution was to cover up the burn marks with spray paint and hope noone noticed (it wasn't the same shade of white as the rest of the ceiling), pipes were leaking all the time over the hallways meaning there was a lot of mildew in the carpets, the doors on the closets were always getting stuck and a gecko once climbed out of the sink in my bedroom.

And oh yeah, there were exposed wires sticking out of the walls in the laundry area. That place is without question a dump, they used to refer to Bond Hall as the ghetto, but Feel'em Elam was the real ghetto at USM.

I'd heard one plan called for the old Panhellenic to eventually be torn down (didn't they have a problem back around 2000 with bats living, defecating and dying in the walls of Panhellenic?)

Curt Yeomans · Status: Offline

USM got the board's OK to initiate the project for construction of a residence hall with up to 900 beds.
900 beds?!? McCarty is huge and according to the Residence Life website, it only has 377 beds so this is apparently going to be more than twice the size of McCarty. How big is this thing going to be? And is it going to have Thames face stamped in the middle of it since it will probably be the size of his freaking ego?

And where the hell are they going to put this thing?

-- Edited by Curt Yeomans at 22:47, 2007-03-25

Googler · Status: Offline

Curt Yeomans wrote:

USM got the board's OK to initiate the project for construction of a residence hall with up to 900 beds.
900 beds?!? McCarty is huge and according to the Residence Life website, it only has 377 beds so this is apparently going to be more than twice the size of McCarty. How big is this thing going to be? And is it going to have Thames face stamped in the middle of it since it will probably be the size of his freaking ego?

And where the hell are they going to put this thing?

-- Edited by Curt Yeomans at 22:47, 2007-03-25

On West Fourth Street. Where the commuter parking lots are located now.

So much for the shrubs and fencing concealing the football team practice field. A 900 bed residence hall across the street will be a prime high-rise location for opposing coaches to perch when they want to scout our team.

stephen judd · Status: Offline

See the Masterplan at

http://projects.sasaki.com/usm/Documents/CopyofUSM_DRAFTMASTERPLAN.pdf

Although the plan has not been formaly adopted, we seem to be working according to its principles in some of the early stages.

I have been to a number of sessions -- to give credit where due, it is actually (personal point of view) a pretty good plan for rational growth and replacement.

Southern Belle · Status: Offline

If the new dorm is built on West 4th Street where the commuter parking lot is, will the commuter parking lot be moved to somewhere else on campus? As we all know, there is a parking problem on campus especially for the commuters. It appears that administration is gradually pushing commuter students far away from campus.

stephen judd · Status: Offline

The answer is both yes and no. There are three high rise parking garages in the plan but in general the parking is being moved to the edges of the campus. The plan is to create adequate walking and bike path, as well as provide some shuttle service. The Sasaki peole indicated that, point to point, no locatin on campus should be more than a 8-10 minute walk. The academic core is being reorganied so that ALL academic buildings (my guess is that some sports/rec classes might not meet this guidline) are all in the same West and Central areas.

I think there is some concern that many of our students work and will be goong from class to car to job and then coming back to campus. I'm slightly concerned that this plan might not take that fully into account. Students who live on campus and work on campus will probably find the new plan will suit them well. Commuting students who can't stay on campus all day and may need to be on and off will probably have some problem but that is just a guess.

Southern Belle · Status: Offline

I know several "non-traditional" students who work off of campus and take classes. So yes, this could present a problem for those students.

Commuter parking has always been on the outer edges of campus which can create problems for individuals who work and take classes. If some type of shuttle service is offered to these areas, it would encourage more people to take class on campus.

stephen judd · Status: Offline

Southern Belle wrote:

I know several "non-traditional" students who work off of campus and take classes. So yes, this could present a problem for those students.

Commuter parking has always been on the outer edges of campus which can create problems for individuals who work and take classes. If some type of shuttle service is offered to these areas, it would encourage more people to take class on campus.

True enough although with the opening of the Theatre and Dance Parking on Ross Blvd (and now the lots across the street) I think access to the West academic area (TAD, Nursing, Liberal Arts, International Studies Bldg is better.

There has been some very good thinking about siting and a lot pf thought given to traffic control and access. Some of it will require some cooperation from the city I think.