As a part of IC 20/20, Ithaca College will require incoming freshmen to be housed in freshman-only dorms and will limit housing options for some current students.
To ensure all freshman students are placed in First Year Experience housing, sophomores will have to wait until July to register for housing when the college can determine how many dorms will be needed for the incoming class and some sophomores will be prohibited from applying to live in Circle Apartments, Garden Apartments and Terrace suites.
In the past, all non-freshman students registered for housing during the spring semester. The new process will strain relationships between members of different classes, as juniors and seniors will continue to select housing during the spring semester. Current students who planned to live with friends from different years will have to pick new roommates or move off-campus under the new policy, which will go into effect for the 2013-14 academic year.
The new First Year Experience requirement will prohibit incoming freshmen from living in Residential Learning Communities. While the college’s attempts to improve the first-year experiences of its students are admirable, the new initiatives should not come at the cost of current students or limit options for incoming students. All students should have timely access to housing decisions and a fair chance at the housing choices that will benefit them most.
Students should also be encouraged to foster relationships with members of the entire student body, not just with members of their own academic class. Mixed-year communities provide students with the opportunity to spend time with people who have different insights into college life. Limiting these types of living arrangements may hinder students from building lifelong friendships with others at the college.
