By Tommy Hallissey
Traditionally a commuter school, St. John's has seen an influx of students interested in living on campus this year. The dorms are full to capacity, with some large doubles being transformed into triples, said students.
This spring, when applications for housing were considered, roughly 2,500 students applied to live on the campus on Utopia Parkway in Fresh Meadows, said Jody Fisher, a spokesman for St. John's. The six dorms house slightly more than 2,200 students, he said.
All of the applicants were tossed into a random computer-driven lottery. No priority was given for seniority or for the distance a student would have to commute to St. John's.
Vice President for Student Life, Susan Ebbs said that in the dorm selection process she did not even consider how near or far a student lives from campus.
“There are good students living across the street, and we're interested in them,” said Ebbs. In a phone interview Friday, she cited the possible disparity in travel time between cars and public transportation as the reason they did not factor the distance from the school into the housing selection.
The results of the lottery were made public in March and caused an uproar on campus. “It's ridiculous,” said Moriah Rosa, a junior from Connecticut. “People from California didn't get housing, and people who live down the street did.”
Rosa chose to live off campus next year and did not apply for the lottery. “If you live past a certain amount of miles, you should get priority,” she said.
Originally 250 students were informed they were being displaced this fall, Ebbs said. Over the past month that number has steadily declined as the Student Life staff has gone through the computer results by hand. There are 100 students remaining on the waiting list.
“We certainly use every available avenue to try to get our students in our residence halls,” said Jody Fisher, spokesman for St. John's University. The list has dwindled, in part because many students have opted to live off campus, even though apartments are generally more expensive than the average $6,000 per year dorm fee.
Roughly 1,000 spots were reserved for incoming freshman. No priority was given to upperclassmen who are residing in the dorms. This policy has caused a furor among those upperclassmen who have lived in the dorms all three of their years at the school.
Incoming freshmen are cautioned that they are not guaranteed housing all four years at St. John's. “It is a natural progression for students to leave (campus) in their junior and senior year,” Ebbs said.
Students who applied for housing and got denied are entitled to full financial aid. But students who chose to live off campus will receive less financial aid.
The search is on for school-sponsored off-campus housing, but school officials declined to discuss specific steps they have taken. Though there are no plans to build more dorms on campus, the school is building a church. “If you have lack of space, building dorms would have been a wiser choice,” said Anaeli Sandoval, a junior from East Rutherford, N.J.
Reach reporter Tommy Hallissey by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 155.
