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The early lunch rush pours into Bruin Café at 11 a.m. With the overwhelming number of studen

Life on the Hill is proving to be extra cozy this fall, as residential housing occupancy has reached its highest since UCLA’s establishment in 1919.

Both new and returning students have felt the increase in population, and their reactions have been mixed – students said while they enjoy the Hill’s bustling energy, they have also faced inconveniences due to the congestion.

“Living on campus has been really fun,” said Aahoo Mozaffari, a second-year psychology student. “I feel like there’s a lot of things going on. The more people here, the more vibrant the campus is.”

Eric Cain, a first-year political science student, said he feels the experience of living on campus with a large number of students is worth the problems that come with the crowding.

“I love (living on campus). I like that everyone lives in the same setting – you don’t have to go far to visit a friend,” Cain said. “I like how there’s always planned activities to do. You can’t do everything, so you have to pick and choose.”

But Mozaffari, who is living in a triple in Rieber Vista, said she wishes she had more of her own private space. Her situation is not unusual for residents of the Hill this fall, as Housing Services has more than doubled the number of triple-occupancy rooms from last year.

With 9,113 students currently living on campus, as opposed to 8,423 last fall, Housing chose to raise the number of triple rooms to 1,746 this year from 832 in fall 2005 in order to match the increased demand for housing space.

“I think living on campus is crowded to the extent that some of the rooms aren’t built for three people, and I live in a triple. Everyone in my room has a bed, closet, desk and their own space, but I would prefer to live in a double,” Cain said.

Part of the reason for this increase in triple occupancy is the loss of Sproul Hall due to renovation. Despite the opening of Rieber Terrace, the Hill faced a net loss of 277 beds this year.

But for the most part, Housing Services has not faced any significant problems due to the overflow, said Frank Montana, manager for community housing and outreach at Housing Services.

“The only major congestion spot used to be the dining halls, but now that we have facilities (such as Rendezvous and Bruin Café), many students can get their food and go,” Montana said.

David Liu, a first-year undeclared student, said the dining halls sometimes get crowded enough to discourage him and his friends from eating.

“There’s usually a long line for food, but it goes fast. When (my friends and I) pick a place to eat, if we see a long line, we usually go somewhere else,” Liu said.

Cain said he appreciates the convenience and closeness of the dining halls, which makes it easy for him to pick a less-crowded place to eat.

“You have to come at a time that’s not rush hour. But since the dining halls are so close by, if one is crowded, you can easily just go to another,” Cain said.

But some students said they have felt the effects of the congestion on the Hill, especially when trying to switch rooms.

Mozaffari tried to switch through the Housing Office into a university apartment, but was turned away because of full occupancy.

“I really wanted to live in a (university) apartment so I can have my own space and kitchen, but (the Housing Office) basically said they’re not doing any transfers at all this quarter because it’s too crowded,” Mozaffari said.

Mei Mei Yang, a second-year undeclared student, also tried to transfer out of her room due to financial reasons, but was told that on-campus housing had reached 100 percent occupancy.

“I called (Housing Services) no less than 10 times over the summer, trying to explain my situation,” Yang said. “They gave a quick answer every time – housing is sold out for the year and there’s nothing they can do.”

This is the first year UCLA has offered on-campus housing to returning fourth-years and second-year transfers, which led to overbooking, Montana said.

In order to avoid this type of bind in the future, Montana said Housing Services will not offer fourth-year returning students and second-year transfer students the opportunity to live on campus.