North Village units will increase on-campus residency rate to 95 percent
By Boyd Yarbrough
The Executive Committee of the Furman University Board of Trustees has approved the construction of two additional buildings in the North Village residential complex.
This exciting addition will allow 95 percent of Furman's 2,600 students to live on campus. Construction is expected to begin in October, making the new facilities available for occupancy by the fall of 2001. They will house a total of 168 upperclass students.
One of the new buildings will contain seminar and meeting rooms for student organizations and for groups using the campus during the summer for conferences and workshops. The addition of two new apartment buildings is a function of student input. The overwhelming popularity of seniors wanting to live in North Village resulted in a significant number of juniors not being able to live there. Adding to this frustration, many juniors were then assigned to the aging facilities in Montague Village or to traditional residence halls. In response to student concern, Furman is taking Montague Village off-line for student housing. It will be converted into much needed administrative space.
The decision to build the third phase of North Village will accommodate these students as well as the increasing number of students who desire North Village. This will be the final stage in restoring Furman to a completely residential campus.
Having more upperclass students on campus has many benefits. By increasing the interaction of freshmen and sophomores with juniors and seniors, the sense of community is enhanced. The upperclass leadership is more fully experienced by all students. Student attendance at athletic events, performances and student interaction on campus increases with a higher percentage of students living on campus. The informal interaction of students with faculty and staff as they cross paths throughout campus also has a subtle, though powerful impact on these relationships. It becomes a classic living-learning environment of the Cambridge model with all of the conveniences of the 21st century.
Boyd Yarbrough is the director of university housing
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Inside Furman is published monthly during the school year by the Furman University Department of Marketing and Public Relations. For story ideas, e-mail John Roberts, editor.