University of Nebraska Kearney - Blue and Gold Yearbook (Kearney, NE)

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Enrollment increase pushes students to off-campus housing The door opens and a girl stumbles into the room tripping over clothes, shoes and books as she tries to make it to her desk. Another girl in the room is digging under a pile of clothes looking for a missing shoe. A third girl is rifling through the closet looking for her green sweatshirt. She finds it underneath the bed. AH three are running into each other as they get ready for class. THREE BR. HOUSE' y $300 350tut.. lown care t They’d say, ‘I’m sorry, It’s already been rented.’$ Schuiie Art by Emily Nohr This was a common scene as residence halls fil- led up lo handle KSC's increasing enrollment. In Octo- ber there were 2,038 students living in residence halls, a small increase over last year's enrollment of 2035 students. Penny Gulden, Lexington freshman, said she knew she would be in a triple room when she came for summer orientation. She shared a 17 X 11 foot room in Ludden Hall with two roommates for a week and a half before one moved out. Although it was only a week and a half, they still had some problems. ‘The hardest part was getting around,” Gulden said. “One of my roommates lived out of a dresser and one out of a suitcase.” Laura Moore, Underwood, la., freshman, limited what she brought with her because she knew a month before that she wouldn't have a lot of space with three roommates in Case Hail. “I just brought clothes and the basic necessities,” she said. “We were only tripled for one day, so we were lucky.” Gulden and Moore both said they're happy that they are no longer tripled and both agreed they never want to be that crowded again. Although many students think that to solve the housing problem the college should just build another residence hall, that just isn't practical, according to Beth Adiekweh, acting director of residence life. “It's just not feasible to build a building because the college will pay for it for 20 years, but in 10 years it could be standing empty,” she said. According to Adiekweh, KSC is not alone with this problem as other schools across the nation are ex- t One of my roomma tes lived out of a dresser and one out of a suitcase. $ Gulden periencing the same problem. At KSC more men occupy tripled rooms because male enrollment is up and women seem to move off- campus sooner, Adiekweh said. Andi Hitz, Norfolk junior, said she moved out of the residence halls because she could never be alone. She lived in Centennial Towers West for one year be- fore moving off-campus. Hitz and her roommate started looking for a place to live last spring before school was out. Price was the top priority for Hitz and her room- mate. “We wanted something cheap and fairly dose to the college,” she said. They found an apartment in a house that is five to six blocks from campus. Their rent, $220 a month, includes utilities but they don't have laundry facilities. This is one of the things Hitz misses about living in a to ar he th of go sh to so mi ro an ( a 0 1 H fo) ini ed ou ph be ho $2 dr Ba rei for loo stu tar Un Br- in4 an Pat 10 Crowded house

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enrollment, and developments J as a connecting link with the rest of the state. He said recruiting from the more populous areas in the state has been successful. About 16 percent, 635 students, came from Omaha in Douglas county. Stu- dents from Buffalo County numbered 1,587. Enrollment increased despite the new admis- sions policy approved by the Board of Trustees for in- coming freshmen in 1988. The first-time freshmen class of 1,581 had to meet the same requirements as the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Univer- sity of Nebraska-Omaha. f The best salespersons are current students and alumni J Nester The new policy outlines the required courses needed in high school to prepare for college. Previous- ly, KSC had an open admissions policy. If the high school determined that diploma requirements had been met, KSC accepted them. Now, if high school graduates can not meet the class requirements, they may be admitted by ranking in the upper half of their graduating class or by pre- senting an ACT score of 18 or a SAT score of 850. Con- ditional and special admission procedures are also outlined. “This policy gives the students an opportunity to recognize that they are able to perform at an ac- ceptable level in college,” said Lon Weber, provost and vice president of Academic Affairs. “They will progress to a bachelors degree with minimal stress.” However, the policy was not designed as a “road block,” according to Samuelson. “We are attracting better students.” More nontraditional students are enrolling at KSC, according to Kathy Livingston, management and information systems assistant. “There’s more of the female-housewife coming back to school,” she said. The actual numbers of nontraditional students in 1988 decreased from last year because of fewer graduate students. However, students from out of state or foreign countries increased 21 percent from 1987. To ease some of the space problems, construction on the Cushing Coliseum addition began in June. The gaping hole south of the old Coliseum, which many students went around as they walked to classes, will be a finished building by November 1989. Jumping the fence became a popular shortcut after the construction crew blocked off the street west of Cushing Coliseum. Gerry Peirce, Red Cloud senior, followed suit. Photo by Michelle Thompson The active construction created some noise and dirt pollution, according to Don Lackey, chairman of the physical education department. “But, next year will be the biggest drawback,” he said. Then, renovation of the old building will begin and class schedules will be altered and offices will be moved. No indoor track meets will be held during that time because of the remodeling, Lackey said. € They will progress to a ba- chelors degree with minimal stress, f Weber The total project will house seating for 6,000; a recreation area the size of nine basketball-volleyball courts; a competition track; four racquetball courts; new classrooms, offices, weightrooms, and storage ar- eas; and, areas for the Human Performance Laborato- ry. Other future construction plans include adding a third floor to Founders Hall; renovating Copeland Hall, the northeast wing of West Center and Otto Ol- sen; and, adding classrooms for the English, journal- ism, and speech departments. By Pam Wood IW

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in the residence halls. She can no longer just throw a load in whenever she wants to. Now she has to go to a laundramat to do her laundry. She also misses not having all of her friends around. “It’s kind of lonely not being able to stick your head out of the door and say, ‘Hey! Let’s go do some- thing ” she said. Regardless, Hitz said she’s glad she moved out of the residence halls. “I like being able to come and go as I please or playing my music whenever I want,” she said. It only took Hitz and her roommate two weeks to find their apartment. Other students weren’t quite so lucky. Some students who returned during the sum- mer had little luck finding a place to live. Diane Schutte, Auburn sophomore, and her roommates started looking in mid-July. Price, size and location were equally important in their search (It’s kind of lonely not being able to stick your head out of the door and say, ‘Hey! Let’s go do something.’ Hitz for a place to live. Schutte said that by the time they started look- ing, there weren’t many places left. “We felt frustrat- ed because all of the places we looked at were out of our price range,” she said. “Plus, when we called the places, they would usually say, I’m sorry, it’s already been rented.’ ” Eventually, Schutte and her roommates found a house that they could afford on 2nd Avenue.They pay $235 a month without utilities but they do have laun- dry facilities. Lauren Downing, property manager at Coldwell Banker-Town and Country said their properties were rented out by mid-July or earlier. They have their biggest rush of students looking for housing in June, although some students started looking when school was out last May. According to Downing, price is important when students look for a place to live. Location is also impor- tant for students who don’t have transportation. By Julie Wenninghoff Jeff Ortmeyer, top, Omaha freshman; Gregg Trumble, Aurora freshman; and Tim Thiele, Clearwater freshman; find living conditions crowded as they share a room in Mantor Hall. Photo by Ken Kruse Unusual apartment floor plans can lead to greeting a guest at the front door while still in the shower as Brad Rea, Wichita, Kan. junior, and Dana Pospisil, Norfolk junior, find. Photo by Patti Podraza