Residence Life to open dormitories to first-year students

The Office of Residence Life and First-Year Experience emailed first-year students Nov. 6, providing them with the option to move to the residence halls for the spring semester. Panther Archives

With every new year comes new opportunities. In Chapman University’s 2021 spring semester, residence halls on campus will open for student housing amidst the volatility of the continuing pandemic.

In a Nov. 6 email from the Office of Residence Life and First-Year Experience (RLFYE), first-year residents were informed of two housing options: to either remain in the current housing accommodations offered at the beginning of the semester or to move into the residence halls across the street from the main Orange campus. 

For students who don’t want to pick up their belongings and relocate, RLFYE will extend their bookings through May 22, 2021, with no changes in cost. Residence halls will require a single student per bedroom, with mostly private bathrooms. Some bathrooms, such as those in the Pralle-Sodaro Hall, may be shared with a suitemate. 

Dormitory residents are required to purchase meal plans at the Randall Dining Commons, Chapman’s on-campus cafeteria, which has been adjusted to provide students with fast service through a grab-and-go system that adheres to COVID-19 guidelines. While indoor dining is restricted, multiple outdoor locations will be accessible to students, as stated in the RLFYE email. Residence hall rooms cost $5,408 per semester and the meal plan tacks on an additional $2,660, which totals to $8,068 for the spring semester.

Keoni Lenoza, a Chapman Grand Apartments resident adviser and sophomore software engineering major, told The Panther he was concerned about the recent uptick in COVID-19 cases. He believes more housing options should only open with extreme caution and care, but also noted the positive influence an on-campus experience would offer freshmen. 

“I do think a lot of students fear they’re going to miss out on their college experience,” Lenoza said. “Because of that, I understand their frustrations and desires to be in on-campus housing. But we should prioritize safety and getting our (COVID-19) numbers back down before that happens.” 

RLFYE Director Dave Sundby told The Panther in a Nov. 13 email that he has no new concerns with on-campus housing and COVID-19. 

“While we’ve had some small clusters (of cases) this semester, I think students are largely following the necessary precautions to stay safe,” Sundby wrote. “I anticipate that will continue in the spring. The state guidelines do not impact our current occupancy plans as we’re still below double occupancy in every room.”

Jordan Rosenberg, a freshman history major, currently lives at home in Newport Beach, California, and feels living on campus would be a crucial aspect of the college experience.

“I’m not concerned with (on-campus housing and COVID-19) because we’re young and it doesn’t affect us that bad,” Rosenberg said. “Once we start to get back on campus, I’m thinking this virus will probably be on its way out. Chapman (administration) would do a fine job at providing us with a safe campus.”

Rosenberg intends to apply for on-campus housing in the near future to ensure applications don’t fill up. According to Sundby, while the pandemic prevents confident predictions of total applicants for spring housing, there have been 300 submissions as of Nov. 13. 

Housing applications and reservation payments must be submitted by Dec. 1, as later submissions are subject to a lower priority.