Move-in day for Kim Tran ’28 was different than most. Instead of the usual buzz of introductions from neighbors and shared smiles over the move-in chaos, Tran and her roommates were met with empty halls and closed doors. Tran was one of a handful of first-years to move into Ytterboe Hall, a dorm hall traditionally reserved for upperclassmen.
“During orientation week, everybody else had residence hall friends that they were able to make, and my roommates and I didn’t have that experience,” Tran said.
Tran, like many of the other 859 first-year students who moved into St. Olaf this year, was confronted with the effects of the housing crisis. Due to the closing of both Hillboe and Kittelsby Halls for the 2024-2025 academic year, as well as an unexpectedly high yield rate, Residence Life (ResLife) was forced to look into alternative housing arrangements. While for upperclassmen, this meant looking at options like Kraewood Flats apartments or Greenvale House, for the incoming freshmen, this meant reshaping current on-campus housing options.
When ResLife first learned of a larger incoming class size than predicted, paired with the temporary loss of two dorms, they set out on the endeavor of accommodating each student.
“It was about ‘Okay, what about first year halls? What are the opportunities to expand to any degree in those first year halls?’” Associate Dean of Students for Residence Life Christopher Medley said.
Allison Staples ’28 ended up in one of those expanded options — an Ellingson computer lab converted into a quad. Over the summer, Staples and her roommate were put into a Google Chat by Medley, in which he asked if the two would be interested in living there.
“My roommate and I talked about it, and we decided, why not?” Staples said. “Let’s try something new, let’s be positive about this.”
But the room came with some surprises. The windows in the room do not open, leaving the four freshmen with no second exit in case of an emergency. Furthermore, the room is constantly hot, causing them great discomfort that they can’t relieve.
“I try to get to bed early because I have 8:00 a.m. classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday,” Staples said. “Even when I am in bed at a reasonable time, like 9:30 or 10:00 p.m., I can’t sleep.”
After ResLife filled all expanded housing options, such as the computer lab Staples and her roommates occupy, they then turned to other on-campus housing options, such as Thorson Hall — another typically upperclassmen-only residence.
According to Medley, first-year students were strategically “clustered” around other first-year students when placed into upperclassmen dorms. In cases where a first-year student was older, they then considered peers of similar ages.
“When doing placement, [it] is not going to be perfect, you know, but as much as possible, where there can be levels of support by clustering, or maybe closer ability to relate to each other because of age… sometimes we are able to bring those students together,” Medley said.
Rudmila Adneen ’28 was one of first-year students placed into Thorson Hall. However, instead of being placed with other freshmen, she ended up with two seniors as her roommates. “As a UWC [United World Colleges] student, I have had my fair share of unique roommate situations in my life,” Adneen said. “I’m also 20, so I didn’t mind living with seniors.”
However, after she moved in, Adneen found that there were unexpected “dynamics” that she hadn’t considered when she got her assignment.
“There’s already this existing friendship there, then this random person from Bangladesh just pops up and is now their roommate,” Adneen said.
Furthermore, similarly to Tran, Adneen feels as if she hasn’t been able to connect with the first-year community in the same way as others.
“In Thorson, everybody I talk to is a sophomore or junior. I think I’ve only talked to two freshmen in Thorson,” Adneen said. “Most of my friends are in Ellingson or Hoyme… I would love to live in Ellingson.”
One of Adneen’s roommates, Liliana Schroedl ’25, was confused by ResLife’s choice to put them with a first-year student.
“It was difficult enough as a freshman to learn how to find friends, to find your safe space, to find your community,” Schroedl said.
In order to combat these feelings of isolation, ResLife staff were prepared to support first-years in unique housing situations and were encouraged to open their first-year-orientated events and programs to other residences from other halls.
“So if Ellingson is doing a large-scale program, then [ResLife] will invite Thorson residents to come over and so forth,” Medley said.
For Medley, encouraging conversations about students’ comfortability about their housing situation is important.
“We want to make sure they feel supported as much as possible, and that we do care,” Medley said. “And if something didn’t work out the way that we wanted to, we acknowledge that, and then how do we continue to follow up with you and support you.”
Maya Betti
Maya Betti is a sophomore from Shoreview, Minn. double majoring in English and political science. In her free time, Maya can be found reading memoirs of former NYT journalists, figuring out how to crochet, and watching West Wing. After graduation, she hopes to attend law school or become a political journalist.
Riley Peterson
Riley is a junior majoring in Creative Writing and Environmental Studies, alongside a concentration in Statistics and Data Science. She joined The Olaf Messenger because she strongly believes in the power of sharing stories and loves the opportunity to connect with her community. In her spare time, Riley enjoys seeing live music, crocheting, thrifting, and planning events for St. Olaf’s Environmental Coalition. She’s not entirely sure what the future holds for her, but she knows writing is going to be an integral part of it.