By Signe K. Skinion

A decision early in November on whether or not Neely Hall will become the only 21-and-over dorm on campus has left dormitory residents with mixed reactions to the possible change.

Albert Harper, resident advisor for Allen II, said the proposal is one of the best ideas he has heard from University Housing. He said he is curious about why this idea has not been thought of before.

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Personally I feel the positives outweigh the negatives as far as the non-traditional students go, Harper said. As far as the other people being affected (under-21 residents), it’ll be a major change for them, but I think they should really like it. I know people are concerned they will be able to sneak alcohol in easier, but they’ll get caught like always.

Steve Kirk, assistant director of Residence Life, said the proposal is not yet official, and he said Housing is trying to get student reactions before the decision is made.

I talked with some of the residents of Warren Hall the other day, and we discussed some of their concerns, like the study environment in Neely, Kirk said. I think the residents are coming up with some valid concerns and some good ideas. We talked about making Neely study floors, but as of right now nothing is really settled on the proposal.

LaGloria Marshall, junior and resident of Allen II, said the proposal seems like a really good change to her and said she hopes that it goes through.

They’re really looking at room and housing for the residents, Marshall said. Some of the concerns, like the security, seem to be a little overemphasized. With Neely being the only 21-and-over dorm, you’re not going to have the 18, 19 and 20 year olds hanging there, so why worry about the security?

However, some residents, like Tim Whitelock, senior and resident of Warren Hall, are less enthusiastic about the proposal and feel there won’t be enough over 21 residents to fill the spaces.

The only concern I have is having to live next to some 18-year-old who is out in the real world for the first time and blasting his stereo all the time, Whitelock said. I don’t think there are that many older students that will want to live in Neely, and I don’t think that they’re (Housing) going to be able to fill all the spaces.

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Whitelock said having to move to Neely would be too much of a hassle.

I moved to Warren because it is closer to my classes, and I didn’t think there would be that many people over 21 wanting to live on campus, Whitelock said. Also, the lake is not that beautiful, but it’s better than looking at asphalt. I probably wouldn’t move to Neely because I only have one semester left after this year.

Harper said he would like to live in Neely next year, but he’s graduating.

Personally, I would love to live in Neely. I wish I could, Harper said. I think the proposal is going to go through.