Where are you going to live next year? As this semester nears its close, returning students are not only tackling finals but also deciding the answer to this question.

Last year there were more students than there were spaces available in the on campus dorms. Because of this, the overflow upperclassmen were moved to the apartments in Westlake owned by California Lutheran University.

“We did house some students off campus for a short while at the beginning of the year when we were full here on campus. We did, however, move them all onto campus very soon after,” said Salma Loo, senior coordinator for Residence Life and Student Conduct.
As soon as a space became available on campus, students were moved back to the CLU on campus housing.

Residence Life also opened up the houses they own on Faculty Drive to house students and will use them in the future as well.

Many students are worried about finding housing because of last year’s overbooking.

Junior Resident Assistant Carmen Garcia wants students to know that they do not need to worry about overbooking anymore.

“Students might be frustrated at first, but just know that Residence Life has it under control,” Garcia said.

According to Nathan Fall, assistant director of Residence Life and Student Conduct, as the years progress, it appears that CLU is becoming closer to having more students desire housing than they can accommodate.

The issue is that seniors, as well as other students, sign up for housing as a back up plan just in case their intended plan falls through.

Once they tell Residence Life that they will be living off campus, this frees up space before the semester starts. So, when students are signing up it may feel like there is no space when in fact, there will be before the next school year starts.

CLU’s housing policy requires all students to live on campus through their junior year. There are exceptions to the policy, which include students who are married, 23 years or older or they live with their legal guardians within 30 miles of campus.

“After four semesters of living on campus, students may petition the requirement,” Fall said.

If students desire to live off campus after their four semesters, they can petition the Housing Review Board to approve their request.

Students may also live in the university owned houses. CLU will  have three houses that students can apply to live in.  There will be two houses with eight students and one house with five students.

Fall said that CLU guarantees housing for students their first three years and they will continue to provide this. Groups of four have the best chance living in their first choice of dorms rather than a group of two or three who might be placed where there is space for them.

“It is a big puzzle that we work with from the day after Commencement all the way up until move-in day,” Fall said.

According to Fall, the 2014 senior class is one of the largest CLU has seen and once they graduate, this will free up spaces in the dorms.

Suite selection takes place on April 23 and 24 in the Lundring Event Center and April 28 in the Gilbert Arena.

Katy Sullivan
Staff Writer
Published April 4, 2014