With the University’s largest freshman class required to live on campus, Residential Life is in overflow mode, temporarily housing students in Edmund Kirby Smith Hall.

Roughly 40 students moved into Kirby Smith Hall on move-in day, Aug. 17, and will remain there until enough cancellations are confirmed in other halls.

Residential Life Assistant Director of Training and Development Christine Wesserling said there have consistently been at least 70 cancellations in the past. The office believes these students’ stay in Kirby Smith will be “short-term.”

Wesserling said that Res Life was adequately prepared in the event of overflow students, and that Kirby Smith is in a reasonable condition for students to live. Wesserling added that this will not likely affect the University’s Campus Master Plan to demolish multiple residential halls, including Kirby Smith, McVoy and Broussard halls.  

Architecture freshman Nakhari Quinn said while he feels excited for what the school year is going to bring, he remains apprehensive about living in Kirby Smith Hall. 

“I would very much rather be in permanent housing for the rest of the school year,” Quinn said. “It’s too much going on if you have to keep moving.”

Kirby Smith Hall was built in 1967 and can house about 734 students. It was closed from 2006 to 2011 for a $1.7 million renovation. It reopened in the fall of 2011. A failed bathroom flush valve in October 2017 resulted in the temporary replacement of 24 students living in the hall’s west wing. The students returned to their rooms within a few days.

Res Life recently reopened McVoy Hall for the first time in three years. The Federal Emergency Management Agency used the hall to house emergency workers and staff during the 2016 Louisiana floods.

Mechanical Engineering freshman Cody Thompson said McVoy Hall is “older, but well-kept” and said his move-in process was “fluid.”

The University remains confident in its ability to house and support the large incoming class. For the second straight fall, the University shattered freshman enrollment records. 

“We commend the work done by our enrollment management and residential life teams with welcoming the largest and highest quality freshman class ever to campus this fall,” LSU Media Relations Director Ernie Ballard said. “Our team did a great job this year with an overflow of just about 40 students.” 

The University welcomes not only the largest incoming freshman class in the University’s history, but also the largest number of freshmen living on campus. These numbers come after the University overhauled its admissions process for the fall 2018 semester. The “holistic” admissions policy de-emphasizes the minimum GPA and standardized test requirements set by the Louisiana Board of Regents for University applicants. 

This is the second year the University is enforcing its requirement that all freshmen live on campus unless they’re living at home within a certain radius or they’re over the age of 21.

A similar enrollment surge resulted in roughly 200 Virginia Tech students living in nearby hotels as the University did not adequately prepare for the influx of students. 

Wesserling said the Res Life staff is discussing plans to ensure the University’s ability to comfortably fit future classes with growing numbers. The University is prepared to house students in Kirby Smith Hall for the remainder of the semester if needed, Wesserling said.

*An earlier version of this story referred to Christine Wesserling as ‘Katherine.’ That has since been corrected.