For University of Minnesota incoming freshmen who apply late for student housing, the standard sentence is an eight-month stint in Bailey Hall, the lone dormitory on the St. Paul campus.
That could change in the coming years. U officials are contemplating moving all first-year housing to the Minneapolis campus, where freshmen take nearly all their classes.
“The first thing that we do is oftentimes put them on a bus in the morning and send them away, so it raises concerns about the long-term viability and strategic importance of a residential experience on the St. Paul campus,” said Pam Wheelock, vice president of university services.
Exactly what would become of the 66-year-old Bailey Hall remains to be seen. It’ll be part of a broader discussion in May about the U’s housing strategy.
Bailey residents have their own cafeteria and a student union with a bookstore, music venue and bowling alley, as well as a nearby recreation center. But for most students, that’s not enough to make up for having to take Campus Connector bus trips to class and back.
Symone McClain was anxious to leave St. Paul after graduating from Highland Park High School in 2013. But she applied “really late” for student housing and was relegated to Bailey Hall.
“I was really mad. I don’t think I even knew they had a St. Paul campus,” she said.
Danielle Langner, a sophomore from Osseo, Wis., had a similar story. Puzzled as to why a sports management major with all her classes in Minneapolis would be placed in the St. Paul dorm, she emailed for a reprieve, but to no avail.
“I tried really hard to get out of Bailey last year,” she said. “They were basically like, deal with it.”
Tanner Johnson, a freshman from Inver Grove Heights studying math, said he was on a wait list before gaining admission to the U. But being a Golden Gopher also meant being a St. Paul resident for a year.
“I kind of got screwed,” he said. “The first week was kind of a shock because I didn’t realize how far away it was.”
The U guarantees and promotes a year of on-campus housing for all incoming students. About 400 freshmen live at Bailey Hall, along with another 100 transfer students and upperclassmen.
Wheelock told the board of regents that the St. Paul campus is “a fantastic destination place” for upper-level agricultural research and coursework.
“However, as a home address of choice for first-year students, it’s a steady underperformer,” she said.
McClain, the Highland graduate, thinks Bailey Hall should be converted to housing for upperclassmen whose majors have them spending much of their time on the St. Paul campus anyway. She’d even recommend it to those students. Despite her initial disappointment, she said Bailey Hall turned out to be a nice place to live, away from the distractions of the Minneapolis dorms.
“I love the St. Paul campus and I’d be really sad if they kicked out Bailey,” she said.
Langner agrees. She thinks the isolation of the St. Paul dorm made it easier to make friends there.
“It definitely grew on me,” she said. “You’re all in it together.”
Josh Verges can be reached at 651-228-2171. Follow him at twitter.com/ua14.
