Students Start to Relocate
University Housing has decided to shut down half of its residence halls. Now, one-third of students living on campus must relocate to the south side of the university. Those living in Temple Towers, White Hall and 1940 Residence Hall are packing up to move to Morgan Hall, Beech International Village and 1300 Residence Hall.
“It’s a little bit of a pain, you know, having to move her,” Temple mother Susan Volovar said. “But she’s going into a great building and Sophia is certainly very happy about moving from this building to the Morgan building.”
The mid-semester move is an opportunity for students living alone to have new roommates. This is both exciting and concerning for the students and their families.
“It’s inconvenient; however, my daughter is really excited about having roommates again because hers left and she wants to be with people,” Colleen Dietrich, a mother of a Temple freshman, said.
Working to Meet the Needs of Students
Students and parents have mixed feelings about relocating but appreciate Temple’s willingness to work with their needs.
The new residence hall options did not work with senior Kayla Myers’s need to cook for her strict diet. Moving out of Temple Towers meant losing an oven and the ability to maintain a similar lifestyle. University Housing allowed Myers to move to The View at Montgomery after she voiced this concern.
“Temple was really accommodating when I kinda expressed my concerns that I wanted a similar room, so getting to The View, it was really nice,” Senior Kayla Myers said. “I’m very appreciative of Temple because it has everything I need. I still have my small individual space.”
Testing Not Required
Freshman Mara Tannenbaum is moving into 1300 Residence Hall to live with a high school friend. She trusts and knows her new roommate, but that is not the case for all students. Tannenbaum expressed her concerns about COVID-19 testing since it was not a requirement for the move.
“I think everyone in every building should’ve gotten tested,” Tannenbaum said. “People living here didn’t have to get tested, just people moving in. So, I think that everyone should’ve maybe gotten tested.”
University Housing says the move will allow them to continue to provide safety and a residential community for students. Only about 1,200 students remain in university housing, which is a little over one-third of the initial number at the beginning of the semester.
The relocation process will finish up this weekend from October 9 to October 11.
This article was co-written by Alexandra López-Carrión.
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