Despite the requirement for sophomores to live on campus, the dorms provided for students are outdated and in need of renovation.
The university houses sophomores in five dorms on campus: Smith Adams Hall, Edwards Hall, Barret Hall, Dillard Hall and Morris Hall. Students are required to live in these dorms despite Edwards, Smith Adams and Morris being over 40 years old. The two newest dorms, Barret, and Dillard were opened in 2005 and 2016 and hold 165 and 170 students respectively.
Shannon Kaczmarek, Dean of Community Living and Wellness, said that the primary reason for having sophomores live on campus is to further shape the student experience.
However, with the conditions that the sophomore dorms are in, it raises the question of, ‘How good is the student experience?’
Since the two newest dorms hold only 335 students and there are 798 sophomores in total. It means that most of the sophomores are required to live in the older dorms. With older dorms come more problems for the students who live there. One of the problems that students have faced is mold accumulating on their personal items during breaks.
Kevin Campbell, Senior Vice President of Operations, said that mold is a “rare” occurrence in these dorms, and if mold is reported in a dorm, a third party is brought in to inspect it.
Living with mold in the older dorms poses a health risk to students with asthma and mold allergies. It also does damage to students’ personal belongings, costing them money to replace these items.
Since students have no choice but to live in these dorms, they should not experience these problems. If renovations were done to the dorms, it would create a safer and more enjoyable experience for sophomore residents.
In recent years, two new freshman dorms have been built, with the introduction of Bullock Hall in 2021 and Wessel Hall in 2023. Along with these, the dorm formerly known as Sikes Hall was renovated and reopened in fall 2024 as the new Mabee Hall. It replaced the old Mabee Hall, which closed after the spring semester of 2024.
These three dorms, along with Nelson Hall, form what is called the freshman village.
Campbell said that these recent renovations have made the sophomore dorms look less attractive. He also said that they have been focused on other facilities around campus and have not been able to get to the dorms.
There are no current plans to build a new sophomore dorm, as the university did with the freshman dorms. Nor are any of the sophomore dorms on the list currently on the list for a large-scale remodel. However, some simple options with the older dorms are to repaint the walls, redo the carpet and upgrade the bathrooms.
Campbell said these upgrades could be done over the summer.
While these options are simple, they would provide a somewhat better experience in the dorms for sophomore students.
The larger upgrades, like HVAC or other mechanical issues, could cause the dorms to be shut down for a period of time while they are worked on. While it would put a strain on the housing system as they would have to figure out where to put these students, it would be better in the long run for future students.
Kaczmarek, said that one possibility that Reslife could do if a dorm were to be shut down for a large-scale remodel would be to use half of the University Park Apartments to house sophomores.
To avoid all of these issues, sophomores could be allowed to live off campus, as is common at most other four-year universities. With sophomores off campus, it would put less of a strain on the on-campus housing system as they would not have as many students to provide housing for.
However, Kaczmarek said if sophomores were allowed to live off campus, it might be hard for them to find houses or apartments due to the current rental market in Abilene.
To better serve future students as the university grows, it would be in the students’ best interest to renovate the older dorms, especially if sophomores continue to be required to live on campus.
