Residence Life Education and Housing has reorganized several aspects of the dorm structure because of  the large number of incoming freshmen.

One of the biggest changes is that freshmen women are now living on the third floor of Sikes Hall, a dorm usually reserved for sophomores.

John Delony, assistant dean for residence life and education, equates the changes in Sikes to “letting air out of the tires.” Once Delony and ResLife officials became aware of how large the freshmen class would be, they immediately took action to make sure there would be adequate accommodations for all incoming students.

In the process, ResLife was forced to move sophomore women out of Sikes and into Morris. The women moved out of Sikes were chosen at random and were offered a “sweet deal,” said Delony. That included keeping their former hallmates and placing only two women in rooms that usually hold three.

Having freshmen in Sikes is unusual to many students, but it is not unprecedented. Delony said some sophomores lived in Sikes seven to nine years ago.

Although ResLife is working to prevent this kind of movement of sophomores again, it is difficult to anticipate the number of future freshmen.

“We’re watching very closely,” Delony said.

Erin Daugherty, the new Sikes residence hall director, said having freshmen in Sikes will be a good learning experience for both sophomore and freshmen women.

“It’s a great opportunity for sophomores to invest in the lives of freshmen girls,” she said. “I’m really interested to see how the two can impact and bless each other.”

Delony wanted to ensure that the freshmen women still receive the freshmen dorm experience. Because of this, ResLife will be doing a lot of programs with Gardner Hall and will be working hard to get them involved with other students their age, he said.

Curfew will also be enforced for freshmen living in Sikes, as it is for all freshmen.

Daugherty is not worried about these new housing challenges because for the past several years both freshmen and sophomore men have lived in Edwards Hall, which has provided a great model for Sikes to use.

Another change in ResLife is the reorganization of Barrett Hall. For the past several years, Barrett has been organized by floor, but this year it is to be organized by tower.

“It comes down to how many beds we need,” Delony said. Barrett has been organized by tower before, and the structure is largely dependent on the male-to-female ratio.

Delony said that ultimately the organization of housing “all depends on the freshmen.”