ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Thursday, July 25, 1996                TAG: 9607250035
SECTION: CURRENT                  PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: ALLISON BLAKE STAFF WRITER 

NOT EVEN ON-CAMPUS ADVOCATE IMMUNE FROM SPACE CRUNCH

Imagine his surprise when Adam Langer, a keeper of the good life for students who live in Virginia Tech dorms, opened his mail this week to find a buyout offer - if only he'd move off campus.

Langer, vice president of the Residence Hall Federation charged with making dorm life a bit more comfy, can't help but see the irony. He also has no plans to join the 100 more uppperclassmen whom Tech is trying to get to move off campus to accommodate a freshman class that's grown larger than anyone predicted

"I think there are a lot of reasons to live on campus," said Langer, a 19-year-old rising senior from Catonsville, Md. "Some people, for financial reasons, need to live on campus."

Typically, on-campus students spend about $350 a month for housing and dining costs.

About 20 students have accepted the buyout offer that went out Friday, despite the critical shortage of off-campus housing that's emerged in recent weeks. Ed Spencer, the assistant vice president for student affairs who runs the dorm and dining programs, said the buyout was offered to 3,800 young men who aren't members of the Corps of Cadets (its members must live on campus).

"We really didn't want to do this again," Spencer said. Last year, the buyout offer went out in May.

The buyout went to men only because the "gender balance" in the dorms was off kilter, Spencer said. It offers students the $100 refund of their dormitory prepayment, and $150 worth of dining dollars to spend in campus dining halls. A second portion of the buyout offers males 21 and older the option of living in a graduate residence hall.

"Living on campus is more popular," Langer said.

His group, the federation, has spent a lot of time the last couple of years making dorm life more homey. They sponsor movie nights around the dorm lounge's big screen TV, for instance.

"The problem is, it's gotten so popular, and the university is not prepared to expand," he said. "I think the university needs to really actively get involved in helping people find housing."

Tech had planned for a freshman class of 4,800 students, all of whom are expected to live on campus. But now it looks like 5,200 will come.

Meantime, Tech President Paul Torgersen said the university is "already beginning to offer advice" to students who need help finding a place to live.

"We're more concerned about students who show up at the last minute," Torgersen said. But he also said he thinks students will find places to live once "the smoke clears" from the first days of the school year. That's when enrollment typically stabilizes.

"I don't think they're going to be commuting from Christiansburg or Radford," Torgersen said.

Spencer, who only last week wondered if the off-campus space crunch is being prompted by students reluctant to triple up in apartments, offered a new theory on Wednesday.

"I'm beginning to wonder now if our overall enrollment this fall is going to be higher than we thought," he said.

LENGTH: Medium:   64 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  GENE DALTON/Staff. Adam Langer, who is on the board of 
          Virginia Tech's Residence Hall Federation is concerned about the 
          university's shortage of on-campus housing. color.