Currently, the College is expecing 11 Hampshire students to use Amherst rooms. Most of the students will be Division III students-a classification for Hampshire students completing a major independent study project on a specific area of interest. A final list of Hampshire students using Amherst housing will be available by the end of the week, and the students are expected to move in by Labor Day.
Hampshire, which is overenrolled by at least 80-90 students, approached the College at the beginning of the summer for housing assistance. However, the College was unable to offer housing until after Amherst students were given priority in room choices. "We wanted to wait to see how opt-out worked first," said Amherst Dean of Students Ben Lieber.
According to Hampshire's Associate Dean of Students Renee Freedman, this is not the first time Hampshire has dealt with overenrollment. "In the past we were able to utilize student lounges in order to accomodate extra students," she said. "We're doing that this year, but we were forced to look elsewhere to meet our demand."
According to Lieber, school administrators designated Plimpton as housing for Hampshire students after the opt-out list revealed the unpopularity of "The Hill"-currently, Plimpton has several empty doubles. Amherst is the only Five College school that has guaranteed housing.
Hamsphire also plans to house approximately 40 students at the Howard Johnson Inn in Hadley. Students living in Hadley will use shuttles to and from campus for classes and meals. Although the students must use the on-campus meal plans, their dining fees were waived by Hampshire.
The students living at the Howard Johnson are a mix of both first-years and upperclass students. The first-years were assigned their rooms at the Inn because they were among the last students to file their housing paperwork. Some of the returning students chose to live in the Hadley hotel with the incentive that they will move into a brand new apartment complex currently under construction on the Hampshire campus. Each room at the Howard Johnson Inn will serve as a double, and the students will be joined by two Hampshire staffers who will also live on the premisis.
Hampshire has already taken steps to bring students back to its campus. "We are bringing residence hall rooms on campus undergoing scheduled reovation back in service sooner than planned," said Green. "This will open up some spaces within a matter of weeks. We anticipate other rooms opening up as the semester progresses. We will move all students back on campus as soon as possible during the fall semester."
Amherst school officials share a positive outlook regarding the new housing arrangements. "We are fortunate enough this year at Amherst to have some open spaces," said the new Director of Residential Life, Dean Torin Moore.
Lieber offered a similar perspective, explaining that several fortunate circumstances allowed the College to provide Hampshire with housing. "[Hampshire] happened to hit us at the right time," said Lieber, referring to the extra beds created by the opening of Pratt and Morrow Dormitories. Had Hampshire requested assistance last year when Pratt and Morrow were under construction, the College would not have been able to offer help because of limited housing.
Moore and Lieber also emphasized the close relationship between the Five Colleges. "As part of the Five College community, it feels good to be able to offer help to our colleagues," said Moore.
Lieber cited an instance when Amherst overenrolled its students in the late 1980s to explain the usefulness of Five College cooperation. "Similar overenrollment happened to Amherst in [1986-87] ... all other colleges were fully enrolled, but we would've appreciated any help," Lieber said. To solve the housing issues in the '80s, the College rented apartments in the center of town and offered free meals to students choosing to live off-campus.