Housing extended to third-year students

With two new residence halls scheduled to be completed by Fall
2005, second-year students are being given the opportunity to live
on campus next year, continuing UCLA’s transition into a
university in which most students live on campus.

In the past, second-year students applied for housing through a
lottery system, with only a few hundred receiving housing. Due to
the future openings of Rieber Vista in August and Hedrick Summit by
fall quarter, it is estimated that over half of current second-year
students living on campus will receive housing for next year.

“We are anticipating that approximately 50 to 60 percent
of our second-year residence hall students will re-apply for next
year. Based on this … we will have sufficient spaces,” said
Director of Housing Mike Foraker.

Rieber Vista and Hedrick Summit will add 1356 beds to
undergraduate housing. The third new high-rise residence hall,
Rieber Terrace, is scheduled to open Winter 2006 and will contain
700 beds, said Associate Housing Director Angela Marciano.

The new facilities have a suite component geared towards
upper-division students. Each suite consists of five single rooms
and a shared bathroom.

“The singles were envisioned to be necessary in order to
attract upper-division students,” Marciano said.

To accommodate the increase in students, two additional
restaurants similar in style to Puzzles and Bruin Café will be
built in Rieber Terrace, which will open next year. Bruin
Café, which opened in Summer 2004, was the first restaurant
built because of the student increase.

Many second-year students like the housing offer for next year
but may not accept.

“I think it’s really great that third-years can get
housing. It’s really convenient, but I’m still going to
live in an apartment,” said undeclared second-year student
Diana Shen.

The recent availability of housing for upper division students
is part of UCLA’s Housing Master Plan, which is designed to
allow Housing to offer all incoming freshmen four years of
guaranteed housing and incoming transfer students two years of
guaranteed housing by 2010. The plan, revised in 2001, also
included the construction of De Neve Plaza in 2000.

Currently, only 33 percent of undergraduates live on campus, as
two years of housing is guaranteed for incoming freshmen, and one
year for transfer students.

“There’s research out there that supports living on
campus benefits students’ overall academic experience. If we
can meet the demands for student interest for living on campus, we
want to accomplish that,” said Suzanne Seplow, director of
the Office of Residential Life.

In addition to building more residence halls for undergraduates,
UCLA Housing is in the process of constructing Weyburn Terrace in
Westwood Village, which will house over 1300 graduate students. It
is currently scheduled to be completely finished by spring
quarter.

Weyburn Terrace, which was scheduled to open before Fall 2004,
has had several delays due to difficulty in securing construction
materials.