If you haven’t heard, an email was sent out on March 8th 2019 from the Division of Student Affairs stating that Regina Hall would be closing.
Regina Hall currently houses freshmen and will be torn down this summer. In the email, Tony Campbell states, “…this summer, we will remove Regina Hall and create additional green space along Lake Marion.”
And of course, there are concerns regarding this demolition instead of renovation plan. There has been many theories circulating about how students will be housed for the upcoming year.
One thing that was confirmed is that freshman will live in Pacelli Hall and Rubloff Hall, while upperclassmen will live in Morris, McCarthy, and O’Brien (which will be open for the upcoming school year). This sounds good in theory, yet terrible in actuality.
Opening up O’Brien Hall would be great, if it was in addition to the dorm buildings we already have. A lot of students like Pacelli for its affordability compared to the quad halls. By making Pacelli only a freshman dorm building, we are taking away an affordable option for upperclassmen who don’t want to live in the quad halls.
Another theory that was confirmed via email was that SXU is granting less single-room accommodation requests. If there will be less rooms and more students (a harsh reality the school is going to face next year), the school can’t afford to house students in single rooms.
This theory was confirmed in an email from Director of Residence Life Katy Thompson on December 7th, 2018.
In this email, she states, “We will plan for the following changes to be implemented in the Fall 2019 semester: opening of O’Brien Hall for full resident occupancy, housing first year residents in Pacelli and Rubloff Halls, close Regina Hall, and reducing single-room accommodations.”
Therefore, students who need a single room for whatever reason, be it mental health, physical accommodations, or otherwise unstated, will be less likely to have that option. Now, we know these plans are already set in motion and there is no way to stop this from happening, regardless of any hesitations the students have about it.
However, we should mention this “green space” that will be in the place of Regina Hall. I love the environment and nature and recognize that we could always use more green on campus.
However, a more beneficial idea would be converting this new space into a new parking lot, another academic building, or even a building dedicated to professors and administration so they can have quality offices. For now, we know they are not renovating Regina Hall, ultimately changing the housing situation for all students this upcoming academic year. However, this plan could be beneficial. Until next year, we will just have to wait and see how it plays out.
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