This fall, 600 fewer students will be moving into SIU’s residence halls, officials said. 

The top-three floors in Schneider Hall will be empty as a result of decreased enrollment, particularly in the incoming freshman class, said Jim Hunsaker, senior associate director of housing operations. 

Vacancies will primarily be in the towers, as well as University Hall on east campus and Thompson Point on west campus, Hunsaker said. However, Wall and Grand Apartments — traditionally designated for upperclassmen — are at capacity this semester, he said.

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Jeanne Lady, senior director of residence life, said there were originally six residential assistants assigned to cover the three floors when hiring decisions were made in the spring, prior to the closure. But not everyone hired to be an RA this fall filled the positions for various reasons, she said, so no one was laid off.

Lady also said some floors will have fewer residents.

A number of floors traditionally set up with two RAs will be reduced to one because the floor will only have 20 or 30 residents instead of 50 or 60, Lady said. 

No new RAs are being hired this semester — as would typically happen to fill vacancies — because some RAs were moved into openings on other floors, she said.

As of noon Tuesday, Lady said, an exact number of the reduction in RAs was not immediately available. 

“It’s just something the whole university is feeling right now,” Hunsaker said of the tightened budget and the decrease in university housing residents. “We’re doing more with less.”

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Features editor Anna Spoerre can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @annaspoerre. 

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