MapleStreet Station is one of the two new residence halls currently under construction on Maple Street. MapleStreet Station and Etheridge Hall will both provide unique housing options for upperclassmen beginning fall semester of 2013. (Lisa Gehring | The Miami Student)
When walking past the Shriver Center and down onto Maple Street it is almost impossible not to notice the new residence halls under construction. These new buildings will be unlike anything else seen on campus to date.
The new halls are an example of Miami University's new initiative that will look towards the future of on campus living.
Senior Director for Auxiliary Planning & Facilities Matt Frericks discussed how when coming up with the process he and other colleagues talked to students for their input on how the school could improve the residence halls.
"We put together focus groups of students about five to six years ago to look at how the school could progress in student housing renovation," he said.
From the focus groups, Miami's housing services learned that students would be better fit to live in a residence hall if instead of corridors they had large rooms, almost like a big house, according to Frericks.
The two new residence halls will be called MapleStreet Station and Etheridge and they will be located near Tappan and Morris halls.
Each floor on the new residence halls will have three "houses" that are filled with 15 rooms where about 30 males and females will live together, but in separate rooms. Within each house, students will have a large common room with a living room, dining room, kitchen area and a study room.
Junior Sean Gilligan said he thinks this new style of residence halls will be beneficial for upperclassmen.
"I feel as though it's a good idea for upperclassman who want to have the security of on campus living without the cramped residence hall feel," he said.
The new residence halls will be for anyone after their first year to live in and will be available starting at the beginning of fall semester. The university will decide who will stay in these new residence halls based on living and learning communities and student created communities.
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Junior Kyle Wilson said that one positive aspect of the new residence halls are they are so close to the amenities the school had to offer.
"As someone who lives in an off campus house, I can only see the benefits of living on campus all four years and feel that this new initiative will spark an interest for students and their living situations," he said.
An important part of this new process is to get students with the same living learning communities together in the same 'house.' According to Frericks, this will allow them to have the opportunity to get to know people with similar interests in an open environment.
Frericks explained how Miami is planning on moving in this new direction of on campus living.
"We are very excited about the process and this is the new trend with residence halls," he said. "We plan to move in this direction with this specific sort of layout for residence halls in the future."
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