Greek women scramble to find new places to live

The University of Mississippi and the city of Oxford as a whole are expanding. From new classes to construction all over the city, students and citizens are preparing for a rapid boom in enrollment at the University. But while numbers for incoming freshman students at Ole Miss is on the rise, many incoming sophomores are dubbing themselves "homeless", and for valid reason.

The University has had to make quick and extreme decisions over the past year to prepare for the record-breaking numbers, which includes changes in on-campus housing. Particularly for incoming sophomore girls who are part of the Greek system, the change in the housing situation has been sudden, drastic, and frustrating.

Living in an on-campus dorm is required of all freshman students, but many sophomores took advantage of the additional space to spend one more year in an on campus building. Although many housing options were already freshman-exclusive, there was one building where nearly all sophomore Greek women lived: Crosby Hall.

Crosby, which sits at the bottom of Women’s Terrace near the Student Union, has previously housed sophomore women in the Greek system. Each organization had its own floor where its members lived, creating a strong community for its members. For many, including freshman Pi Beta Phi member Mavis Bushelman, the opportunity to live in Crosby Hall was more than just a convenience.

“Living on campus next year would have been extremely convenient and a great way to bond with our large pledge class. The living situation was very abrupt and the way that we were informed was not handled very well by the University.”

The dorm will now be an exclusively freshman women dorm, joining dorms like Hefley and Martin to house the record-breaking large incoming class. The sophomore sorority women are now left with very few on-campus options.

The opportunity to live in the house of each sorority is up to the discretion of each organization, but even the university is doing very little to accommodate these “homeless” women. With minimal options that took away the sense of community Crosby had previously offered, these Greek sophomores were left scrambling to sign leases for off-campus apartments.

The changes took many by surprise, from students to sorority members to even parents and family members. The main reaction, however, seemed to be disappointment over the new change.

Jennifer McClure, Assistant Director for Marketing for the University of Mississippi Housing Department, acknowledges the frustration many people are feeling over the change.

Numbers for future freshman classes are expected to continue to rise in years to come, prompting more construction of new dorms, more housing changes, and more Greek women scrambling for a place to live.