While housing officials at UW-Madison try to find space in overcrowded facilities for students displaced by Hurricane Katrina, UW-Milwaukee, is experiencing a public housing crunch as well, due in part to an exceptionally large freshman class.
According to Stephanie Warner, assistant director of housing at UW-Milwaukee, the university had 600 freshman enrolled with no additional campus housing available.
In order to solve the problem, students were doubled up in larger single and triple rooms, Warner said. In addition, housing offered $350 to be added to any student's gold account if they cancelled their contract and sought living elsewhere.
Many students took the cash incentive and the rest, about 200, have consented to double up with others and have roommates.
Officials at the office of housing at UW-Milwaukee were surprised to receive positive feedback from students saying they were happier having extra roommates.
Warner said the situation should be solved by the end of the semester when some students move out of the dorms or drop out of school altogether.
UW-Madison has already struggled with housing its larger-than-average freshman class this fall and the addition of Katrina victims in the past days has resulted in even tighter quarters.
Martin Rouse, the student services coordinator for the Department of Special Students said approximately 110 student hurricane victims have applied to Madison and sought housing.
\A lot of them initially ended up in some dorms rooms that were empty,"" he said. Since then, the evacuees have filled spots in public and private housing and have begun to fill off-campus apartments.
Some landlords have offered the students one-semester leases and several professors have offered places in their own homes to students, Rouse said.
Meanwhile, some freshmen who enrolled this fall may still be waiting for spots in public housing.
According to Paul Evans, director of university housing, there were over 600 students on housing waiting lists at times over the summer.
The number of students still waiting has certainly decreased, yet an exact count is elusive, he said.
However, getting the situation under control for this year does not prepare the university for next year's class, which may be larger, according to Evans.
New construction at the Presbyterian House, 731 State St., would create additional space, but the building would have private apartments, not dorms.
'We would like to still build and get larger,' Evans said.
Construction on a new Ogg Hall and renovations to Chadbourne Hall will improve dorm quality, but will not add any extra space.
The soonest new dorms would be built is around 2010 and could add 700 rooms for students.
-Jamie Thomas
contributed to this article.
