Sports, language groups, and affinities are housed in townhouses located on Ole Avenue. Ainsley Francis / The Olaf Messenger
In recent years, frustrations with Residence Life have risen amongst students who would like to move off-campus. St. Olaf College strongly encourages students to live on-campus all four years in order to stay engaged and immersed in the community. However, on-campus housing is proven difficult for some students as it is expensive and the process is chaotic.
Students are allowed to live away from campus, but there are many restrictions. According to the St. Olaf webpage, students are allowed to live off-campus if they meet the following requirements: be 23 years of age or older on or before the first day of fall semester classes, reside in Northfield with parent(s) or guardian at an address within the Northfield School District, be married, or be a custodial parent. Students can also receive accommodations for off-campus housing if they have mental or medical health issues.
The Associate Dean of Students for Residence Life Christopher Medley reviews off-campus housing applicants. However, he does not oversee any health or medical-related requests. According to Medley, they received around 180 off-campus housing applications for the ’23-’24 housing process. Approximately 80 students met the college’s requirements and were approved by Residence Life.
“Each year the process of allowing students to live off-campus beyond the college exemptions will be assessed. The two major factors will be projected enrollment and any slated residential renovation projects,” said Medley in an email to The Olaf Messenger. He reiterated that students must meet these guidelines to live off-campus.
To ensure a better living environment for upperclassmen, new residential housing was built on Ole Avenue. “With New Hall and townhouses as part of the housing inventory, St. Olaf is able to house all students each semester with our current enrollment and active residence hall inventory,” said Medley in an email to The Olaf Messenger.
Students have raised questions and concerns about the future of prices regarding townhouses. One student who lives in the townhouses this semester, Marissa Lindaman ’24, is one of the few students who have heard about the price increase. She believes that Residence Life is changing the townhouses to a more “luxury living” situation. Currently, housing is estimated at 6,200 dollars for fall and spring semesters. According to the Director of Public Relations, Kat Dodge, the pricing for the townhouses has not been determined for the 2024-25 academic year. The Board of Regents plans to meet in October to decide the pricing for student residential housing.
