Residence halls are at their fullest in two years and this comes from benefits from many new student enrollments.

“I am happy because the resident halls are full this year,” said Doug Carnahan, dean of students. “This is the fullest we had it in two years.”

With 640 students staying on campus this year – more than 100 more than last year – Southern students benefit from this circumstance.

“More residents mean more money, more funding, more student life and students organizations,” Carnahan said. “Just this year alone we were able to get new mattress, two more treadmills in the Student Life Center and spend a lot of money on basics improvements.”

The benefits don’t stop there.

“It’s good for a lot of reasons,” said Adam Griffin, residence hall director. “[There are] no empty rooms, more student involvement and just a better atmosphere.”

With a large number of students living on campus this year, both old and new, problem solving is scarce with room assignments.

“Since there are a large amount of residents, we don’t have much flexibility,” Carnahan said.

This means more work for some students.

“Students will have to learn to work out their differences first,” Griffin said. “Then, if not, they have to be patient because of the limited space we have this year. We are here to prepare them for the real world were there is always going to be someone or something you don’t like.”

With the residence halls being full this year, it means more work for the staff.

“It will the keep staff assistant extremely busy,” Carnahan said.

The SA’s agree.

“It’s a good thing for the school,” said Elizabeth Kluesner, sophomore nursing major and SA. “The only negative thing is that it over crowds the residence halls.”

“With the residence halls being full this year, it has made it harder to find a good parking spot on campus,” said Daniel Todd, senior biology major and SA. “But, to prepare we did the same amount of training.”

There were problems though.

“With a larger amount of females than males registering for housing this year, we were forced to open up the third floor of Blaine Hall and hire new staff,” Griffin said.

Some students find the large numbers a positive thing.

“I think the residence halls being full is great,” said Tabitha Lester, senior secondary education history major.

“It’s a better way to make new friends”

This sentiment is echoed by others.

“Since I am a transfer student, it’s alright,” said Keema Johnson, junior nursing major. “It’s not like home but you meet a lot of new people this way.”