THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 26, 1996 TAG: 9607260473
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: 41 lines
Cramped for space and faced with a larger-than-expected freshman class, Virginia Tech is willing to pay upperclassmen to live off-campus.
The buyout offers students the $100 refund of their dormitory prepayment, and $150 worth of dining dollars to spend in campus dining halls.
Male students 21 and older are given the option of living in a graduate residence hall, according to Ed Spencer, assistant vice president for student affairs.
He said the offer was made to 3,800 men who aren't part of the Corps of Cadets, whose members must live on campus. No women were included because the school has sufficient dorm space for women.
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 enroll.
Spencer said 20 students have accepted the buyout since Friday, when it was offered.
Adam Langer, vice president of the Residence Hall Federation charged with making dorm life a bit more comfortable, said living on campus has become more popular, partly because of cost, partly because of a shortage of off-campus housing and partly because the federation has worked hard to improve the quality of campus life.
``The problem is, it's gotten so popular - and the university is not prepared to expand. I think the university needs to really actively get involved in helping people find housing,'' said the senior from Catonsville, Md.
Langer has no plans to take the buyout.
Virginia Tech President Paul Torgersen said he was confident that all students would be able to find housing. ILLUSTRATION: THE DEAL
The buyout offers students
the $100 refund of their dormitory prepayment, and $150 worth of
dining dollars to spend in campus dining halls.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA TECH HOUSING COLLEGE UNIVERSITY by CNB