Starting in Fall 2014, SMU resident life is making a radical change. SMU undergraduates will now be assigned one of the eleven “Residential Commons” which all have living areas for students, staff, and a live-in professor. Yes a live-in professor. Some professors have decided to trade their home life for living in a residence hall on campus. The live-in teachers will receive free housing along with other perks. This new program is to help create an environment that is conductive to learning both in and out of the classroom.
When walking to the Dedman Center, you will see the five new residence halls and cafeteria being constructed on the right. We will finally get to see the residence halls finished with residents moving in next fall. If you can’t wait that long SMU has released a computer generated video of what the residences are planned to look like. The video clearly shows that these new residences emphasize the sense of community by having many general living quarters in which students are able to interact. This is because SMU wants its students to have a shared sense of belonging.
There will also be other changes in SMU resident life. Starting next year, second years will be required to live on campus. This is a major change from past years. Many second years currently live in apartments near campus, but the current freshman class will not have that option. Depending on the person, this could be a positive or a negative change. Some people love the sense of community whereas others need personal space. The new system encourages community living, so it may be difficult for those who need privacy. There will also be classrooms in the new residence halls as well. Also, five more residences will be converted to this residence model for the 2014 school year further changing resident life as we know it.
Incoming students will no longer be able to request specific residences they would like to live in. Students will be randomly assigned a residential community they will live in for the two years they are on campus. Students, however, are still able to request a roommate allowing them to have some choice in their living situation. The Honors, Hilltop, and New Century Scholars programs will all continue, but they will no longer be offered as residential programs.
There have also been rumors that sorority and fraternity houses are not counted as on campus housing. These rumors are false. If you live in a sorority or fraternity house your second year that does meet the second year residence requirement.
Next year SMU will have major changes. These changes will not affect the upperclassmen. The current freshmen and incoming students will be the first students to experience a completely new way of living here at SMU.