The influx of freshmen students has sparked a series of overcrowding situations, affecting students in dining halls, bookstores and even in their residence halls.
And when four students live in one room, chaos can sometimes result.
But for transfer student Sari Winerman, having three roommates has been a positive learning experience.
Winerman, along with 77 other students, lives in a "quad room," a converted residence hall study lounge capable of housing up to four students. "It's such a random setup," Winerman said. "Like a bunch of furniture thrown into a room - our furniture and the study lounge furniture," The quads, created as a result of overcrowding in the residence halls, provide temporary housing until the students can move into regular single or double rooms. Gonzalez said the staff of Housing and Residence Life is doing everything possible to utilize the 6,200 rooms for on-campus living, but overcrowding may also stem from a greater number of students choosing to live in the dorms. "We have a higher number of students returning to the residence halls than in the past," Gonzalez said of the 6,300 students expected to live in the dorms this semester. Cathy Bickel, associate director of Housing and Residence Life, said the university overbooks the residence halls to ensure capacity in case students withdraw. "If you have 100 beds you don't just book 100 students," Bickel said in an article printed in the Daily News' Roll Call edition. "It's better to go into an overflow situation than to underestimate." Alan Hargrave, director of Housing and Residence Life, said the students living in quad rooms signed housing contracts that stated they would be sharing a quad room with three other people. "The contracts they received were for quad rooms," Hargrave said. "They knew what kind of room they were getting, and they received an outline of how we would go about moving them into a regular room based on their priority date. "It's impossible to predict when we'll have a vacancy. It can happen anytime. As soon as a room is open the next student on the list of students living in quad rooms will be called." Housing and Residence Life is not the only organization on campus feeling the pressure of overcrowding that accompanies the beginning of the school year. Melissa Brinker - manager of the Ball State Bookstore, located in the Art and Journalism Building - said the business they have received this week has been inconsistent with previous years. Brinker said when the bookstore was located in the Student Center, most students would hit the store to buy books either in the morning or in the evenings. "I don't know if it's the overcrowding with more freshmen that's the cause," Brinker said. "But we've noticed different traffic patterns coming through the bookstore. "Now people are coming in spurts throughout the day. I can usually tell when classes have let out because that's when we get a lot of people in." Brinker said business has calmed down since the semester began, but she's curious to see what next week will bring. "I think there are some students holding off to buy books," she said. "And I'm sure there are still a lot of freshmen who feel overwhelmed and have decided to wait until they get settled in before buying their books." Brinker said lines move best when students are prepared. "Things have been moving well all week, but if students would have their checks out and their I.D.s ready to pay , it would keep them from getting hung up in long lines," she said. Bob Talley, a cashier for Dining Services who works in the Atrium in the Art and Journalism Building, said students should take similar precautions when purchasing food. "Everything on your tray needs to be visible, and students need to have their cards out," Talley said. "You have to have your I.D. with you, or we're required to tax you." Talley said the lines for food are usually worse around lunch and dinner time, but students do not seem to have problems finding a seat in the dining area of the Atrium. "Having space for seating outside helps," he said. "But I have a feeling it's going to get worse when winter comes."
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