Editor’s Note: All Residential Assistants are quoted anonymously to prevent any repercussions from the comments made in this article.
With classes beginning Aug. 21, Ole Miss has spent the last few days greeting returning students and welcoming a plethora of new faces.
The 2023-24 academic year is projected to have yet another record-breaking freshman class size. Thanks to that, move-in days featured hundreds of new students moving into residence halls, creating busy schedules for everyone involved — especially the Residential Assistants who staff campus living quarters.
“So far, move-in has been hectic,” said a Martin Hall RA who assisted new students. “Rush move-in for Martin Hall was super busy and tiring but we pushed through. Stockard’s busiest day for move-in was Aug. 14. About 300 guys moved into their dorms in one day, which was as busy as it sounds.”
Unfortunately, such a large student population has led to issues that go far beyond a hectic moving day.
Nearly all student housing buildings are at maximum capacity. Some RAs have been assigned roommates, and in some residential halls, large two-person rooms have been converted into three person rooms.
“We have to interact with more residents than we’ve ever had before, on top of being students ourselves,” the Martin RA said.
The increase in occupancy is meant to accommodate the rising number of students, but it has left the Martin RA wary.
“Personally, I am a little uneasy about having 50 girls on my floor, considering last year I only had about 30,” they said.
One RA from Crosby Hall believes the operational changes and increased population has led to several instances of miscommunication between departments, making for frustrating work.
“I think this job can wear you down as policies change, and as they let in more freshmen, you feel more and more frustrated,” they said. “I hope there is more advocacy for RAs, more balance and communication, whether that’s talking to the admissions department or the conduct head, to not make the lives of RAs and students harder.”
Some freshmen have been allowed to live at The Quarters, an off-campus apartment complex with which the university is partnering. This is a first-time occurrence, and it has made it more difficult for upperclassmen to find available residential spaces.
The community director for The Quarters was contacted about this issue but did not provide a comment before publication.
The RA from Crosby Hall described her concerns about some of her friends struggling to find housing accommodations, as freshmen were given priority for on-campus housing.
“One of my biggest concerns is my international friends or upperclassmen friends that can’t afford an apartment and don’t have a spot on campus anymore because of the freshmen taking priority when it comes to university housing,” they said.
Caitlin Knight, a sophomore allied health studies major will be living in The Domain, her first apartment. Though she’s excited for the new experience, she believes the housing situation could have been handled better.
“I was actually really upset because it felt like all the upperclassmen were being pushed off campus,” Knight said. “A lot of people just can’t afford off-campus housing right now, and I wish they didn’t push us off campus the way they did because a lot of people genuinely don’t have a place to stay.”
With Ole Miss’s plans to demolish Kincannon Hall and construct three residential halls in its place, there could be more housing options in the future. Hopefully, more solutions will come as this year progresses.
Ashlynn Payne contributed reporting.
