SUNY Buffalo State is taking it back to before 2015 with residence life allowing senior students to live on campus again.

In a recent email from Timothy Gordon, the Vice President for Student Affairs, Buffalo State students were informed that for fall 2019, seniors will be allotted housing on campus. With new renovations done to campus residence halls such as Bishop Hall and the Towers One, Three, and Four (Tower Two being worked on during the 2019-2020 school year) there have been more than 200 rooms opened.

Senior students’ housing was taken away in 2016 due to the high demand for campus living. The campus didn’t have enough room for everyone to live on campus, which resulted in small double rooms turning into triples for incoming freshmen. This caused an uproar for parents and residents and only lasted about a year or two.

The lack of housing accommodations for seniors resulted in the building of Campus Walk, an off-campus housing right next to the Student Apartment Complex. Financially, students couldn’t necessarily afford campus walk, with rent being up to $845 for a single room with a bathroom, and three other apartment-mates.

Gordon was a part of the decision to bring back senior housing. The decision came from years of concerns from students, the office always taking their feedback into consideration.

A concern for some rising sophomores could be the lack of space now in apartment style dorm halls such as the Student Apartment Complex and Moore Complex, giving students single rooms with kitchens attached. In response to these concerns, Gordon and his office said they will continue to pay attention to the needs of the students on campus and making sure they’re comfortable with where they’re housed.

To handle the worry that possibly one day there could be an influx of residents on campus as there was two years ago, Gordon said, “the campus has engaged a consultant to provide us with an updated housing demand study. The study will inform us on the types of housing and anticipated number of beds we will need in the future to best meet the needs of our future students.”

Though, of course, the renovations to residence halls have appeared to positively impact the campus and gives campus living a possible hopeful future.