Put yourself back into the state of mind you had the summer before you came to college. You were excited, nervous and more than anything else, ready to be out of your parents’ house. Then you get the email that tells you where you’ll be living this semester; it’s a study packed with five other people. That doesn’t sound like any stereotypical college movie you’ve ever seen. How did this happen?

Each year at UW-La Crosse, it seems like enrollment grows and the student population increases with it. To accommodate the higher number of students, dorms become stuffed to the max, especially with freshmen. Students are required to spend one full year in the dorms, excepting for special circumstances, and are typically encouraged to stay for their sophomore years as well. The housing market is competitive, especially since most students feel urged to sign a lease by the end of September. I know I panicked last year when I didn’t sign mine until mid-October.

Apparently, the solution to over-enlisting students is to jam too many people in studies and double rooms. The double rooms, which are supposedly built to accommodate two people, are expected to squish in three. I remember my move-in day, knowing I was living in a triple double.

We arrived, sweaty because of the sweltering heat and lack of air conditioning, and nervous. When I walked in, most of my roommates stuff was already unpacked. I was incredulous. There was barely any room to move! A desk was shoved under one loft, our tv balanced precariously on the refrigerator and one of my roommates sacrificed almost all of her dresser space in favor of a microwave. Not to mention that we rarely ever had privacy or room for clutter.

Now the studies are larger, but the name implies what they’re actually supposed to be used for; studying. By using studies as bedrooms, it effectively takes away a much needed study space as well as discourages floors to get to know each other. Instead, five girls or boys are crammed into there, lofts and desks littering a room set up with tall windows. They allow for almost no privacy and there are constantly other people around you. To some, this is preferred. You might meet your best friends there and love the constant interaction.

To others, it’s a nightmare. Other roommates constantly leaving their things all over the room, waking up for 7:45 a.m. classes when you don’t have to wake up until 9 a.m. Maybe you like to go out on the weekends and you know one of your roommates hates it when you come in late. There are enough horror stories on the Internet about traditional dorm living; I can’t imagine how many there are detailing problems with multiple roommates.

Most of the dorm rooms on campus are pretty small. It takes everyone a while to get used to them. But by forcing too many people into that small space, where the heater sounds like rocks are being poured down it, air conditioning is (mostly) nonexistent and the hallways are always loud, it creates a stressful environment for living. Quality housing should be a right for our tuition, not a privilege.