Record-Breaking Enrollment at Ole Miss has its Downsides

As Ole Miss's population continues to skyrocket, the University is now faced with entirely new sets of challenges in order to accommodate every student.

Students walking through the campus as finals week wraps up

We all know very well how the Grove and culture at Ole Miss is a major attraction for any student who ultimately chooses to enroll. Almost too well. With the growing student population that has soared through the record books comes an entirely new set of challenges for on-campus living. The growing student population has become evident with the new policies the University has had to implement, which includes only allowing freshman to live in the limited dormitory space that is available on-campus. 

Facebook Link- Ishmael Miller discusses the changes that have been made for on-campus living

This had forced some Greek communities (who use to rely on buildings such as Brown and Crosby) to find apartment complexes that are willing to sign last-minute leases for upper classmen. However, the solutions to house the influx of international students participating in the exchange program have not been as easy.   

"Most apartment complexes require signing a year-long-lease and some require a credit history which someone new to the U.S isn't likely to have." said Jean Robinson, the Assistant Director for the Office of International Programs. "The year-long-lease is a problem for exchange and Intensive English students who maybe aren't going to be here that long."

With these legal issues posing as a major barrier for next semester's exchange students, this requires the Study Abroad and IEP offices to make special arrangements with apartment complexes. This also poses underlying issues that include transportation to campus. Because international students are less likely to own a car, it is important for them to live closer to campus in order to make it more convenient to walk or bike to their classes, not to mention living near the O.U.T transportation routes. 

“For students who are usually not able to visit the campus prior to their arrival to begin classes, it can be difficult to navigate the choices.” said Robinson. Robinson also pointed out that having to group all of the international students together in one apartment complex takes away from the exchange students getting the experience of living among American students, and the off-campus living makes it more difficult to take part in the educational and social events that are held at night. 

The issues with housing that the international community is experiencing is one of many drawbacks to the increasing student population at Ole Miss. With housing for both American and foreign students being a huge issue, the University is currently working to find solutions in order to accommodate all students and their needs. 

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