Traditionally, Saint Augustine’s has had one moving day at the start of the semester, as students have turned rooms into new homes. Things have been different this year for some students as various issues have led the school to relocate students.
Boyer is the latest dormitory building to be shut down, causing another change in student living arrangements. The closing of the facility, which has maintenance issues, resulted in students being transferred to the Falk Crest Apartments.
Boyer is the fourth dorm that St. Augustine’s has shut down in the past year and half, joining Lynch, Baker and Atkinson. School officials attribute the closings to safety issues and declining enrollment. . The only dorms currently in use are Latham and Weston in the front for freshmen and Falkcrest for upperclassmen. As a result of Boyer’s closing, Falk Crest Court had been changed back to co-ed.
The dorm complex had been changed from co-ed late this summer, with Buildings D and B becoming the two female dorms while building A and C the male dorms. But the closing of Boyer has resulted in some males being placed into female dorms in Falk Crest.
This has caused unhappiness for some women who preferred single-sex dorms. . Some students also grumbled because those initially assigned to Falk Crest had to higher fees for the privilege, while those transferred there did not. As a result, some feel that the changes have resulted in unfair living arrangements.
Asked how they feel about the changes, several students on campus said they were unhappy.
“The amount of money we are spending to live on campus is not worth it,” said Imani Baughn-Mitchell. “A dorm is a place you are supposed to be your home away from home and it doesn’t feel like it,” added Alexandra Saunders.
— Charles Gilchrist and Jakeina Sutton
