MATT HEISTAND/Arizona Daily Wildcat Business freshman David Mongan helps computer science freshman Ali Nassiri and business freshman Taylor McFarland get settled into their new home in the seventh floor study lounge in Arizona-Sonora Residence Hall Aug. 19. The lounge, which at the time housed five students, was just one of many places the Department of Residence Life had to put students because of housing shortages.

New rule was prompted by dorm overcrowding in the fall

A housing shortage that left 200 students living in hotels and dorm lounges at the beginning of the year prompted administrators to create a four-semester housing cap and allow only 1,000 of next yearâs sophomores to live in the dorms.

A record number of freshmen ÷ more than 6,100 ÷ entered the university last fall, and because more people than expected applied before the guaranteed housing deadline, the Department of Residence Life was unable to turn students away.

ăWe just didnât have enough space for them, bottom line,ä said Residence Life Director Jim Van Arsdel.

Although permanent places were eventually found for all the students living in temporary housing, it was not before many students complained that they were not getting the university-living experience they had paid thousands of dollars for.

Lindsey Lakia, a pre-business freshman, said her parents were ănot happy at allä about her staying in the hotel. Lakia said that beyond security concerns, her mother said her the hotel, ăwas not what she contracted for.ä

In response to the overcrowding, housing officials sent a letter to all dorm-dwellers at the end of the fall semester saying that people who have lived in the dorms for four semesters would not be allowed to live in the dorms next year and that the number of students allowed to return would be limited to 1,000.

ăThis decision was kind of backed into in a way that literally we did everything else we could do before making this decision,ä said Van Arsdel, who drafted the letter. ăIt just wasnât enough, and we were just forced to make this decision.ä

Although new construction projects will create nearly 1,000 new spaces in university housing over the next few years, housing officials said the cap was necessary to alleviate the crunch in the meantime.

Student government and Residence Hall Association representatives believed otherwise, though, saying that the cap would hurt the sense of community that many students cherish in the dorms.

ăI live in Yavapai, and I donât agree with what the administration has done,ä said Gary Yee, a computer science sophomore and president of the Yavapai Hall Student Association. ăThe older students are the ones who helped me with my homework and taught me the history and traditions of the UA. They are vital to the system.ä

The Associated Students of the University of Arizona also passed a resolution opposing the cap, saying it should be delayed for a year. Then-Senator Doug Hartz said the university acted unethically in implementing the cap, after leading current students to believe they would be able to live in the dorms for all four years if they wanted to.

Despite student protest, though, UA President Peter Likins said that the housing crunch had forced the administration and Residence Life into a corner, and that officials were left with little choice but to implement the cap permanently.