Freshmen moving into the residence halls encounter a whole new experience, and many changes with their new lifestyle.

"Students should expect to have fun and meet great people and learn to compromise," former Resident Adviser (RA) Megan Beaujon said.

For the 2008 school year, 4,421 students have requested housing and roughly 4,050 beds are available. This means 371 students will be without a permanent room.

Students should also realize with such tight living spaces that it is important to learn to live with each roommate and other people on the floor. The average room size is approximately 150 square feet, said Residence Hall Association (RHA) member Jonathan Bettger.

 "Learning to share space is the biggest problem that roommates have," Beaujon said.

Packing for school is tough, but what new residents should pay attention to is not to bring too many things, said Karen Walker, assistant director of University Residence Occupancy, Management and Assessment. Students should leave all their winter and spring clothes at home until needed, she said.

"Pull out everything you want to bring to school and cut it in half," Walker said.

Despite the space constraints, pros of living on campus include shorter walks to classes and no separate monthly bills for food, rent and utilities, Western sophomore Kaitlyn Runde said.

And with rising gas prices, students also want to stick close to campus, Bettger said.

Western has a contract with Whatcom Transportation Authority (WTA) to provide a bus system for students, Bettger said. The fee for a bus pass is part of students tuition.

"Bring a car if you plan on leaving campus often [because] the bus system is not always the fastest," Bettger said. "Although they do service a lot of Bellingham."

However, there are cons to living on campus — quirks of roommates and neighbors in the dorms will start to wear on residents’ nerves, Runde said. There is also poor dining hall food and a lack of privacy, she said.

"Expect to share things and lose a lot of privacy from what your life at home might have been like," Runde said. "Learn to get along with your roommate, or at least live with them, if you don’t get along. Get to know them so you feel comfortable telling them to shut up or to ask for help with something."

Community council is a good way to get involved, meet and be able to work with peers, Bettger said. The council funds events for the residents, he said.

"It’s a good way to find out what’s going on around your community," Bettger said. "And you can plan your own event and have it paid for."

Resident advisors are helpful in tough situations or for answering questions, Runde said.

"RAs are good sources of information. They know the system and can help out," Bettger said.

"Students are pretty happy no matter where they go," Walker said. "Freshmen end up in a building with other great new freshmen. Students shouldn’t worry—even if they don’t get their choice."

The Ridgeway Complex and north campus are good for freshmen or students who want to live in smaller communities, Bettger said. It’s a better opportunity for students to get to know neighbors on their floor and building, he said.

"I was randomly placed in Omega my freshman year, and I stayed for three years because I had friends there," Bettger said. "The smaller building makes it really easy to make friends on your floor. The location is good, too — it’s central to all areas of campus, except the hill sucks."

Alpha and Nash also offer substance free buildings for people who choose to refrain from using substances, Bettger said. It is as an opportunity to live with other students with similar views, he said.

Fairhaven is a good choice for vegetarians, as the dining hall caters to non-meat eaters.

The suite-style buildings of Fairhaven, Beta and Gamma are ideal for friends who want to live together, Bettger said.

"I didn’t actually choose Fairhaven, but I really loved it," said Runde, a Fairhaven resident. "I loved having my own space in the bathroom and not having to run down the hall to go to the bathroom."

She said since Fairhaven is apartment-style and far away from main campus, it already seemed like it was off campus.

Buchanan Towers is a common residence hall for sophomores who aren’t quite ready for the off-campus atmosphere but want a little more space with the suite-style rooms, Bettger said.

Birnam Wood is another good choice for upper classmen who want to stay but on-campus want more privacy and space, said Bettger. He is moving into Birnam Wood in the fall.

The apartment-style buildings split two bedrooms between four residents with a shared living room, kitchen and a bathroom.

Before moving to campus it is highly recommended that roommates get to know each other and sign the roommate contract, Walker said.

Less than one percent of students move out or transfer to different dorms because of roommate issues, she said.

For new students wanting a little more control over who they might want to live with, MyRoomate is an online tool that allows students to choose specific characteristics that are important to their lifestyle.

Categories include early bedtime, cleanliness and noise levels. About one-eighth of Western residents find their roommate through this tool, Walker said.

Students who have requested housing for 2008 but aren’t assigned a permanent room will get temporary housing, which places students with an RA, Walker said. And as space becomes available from no-shows students will be moved into permanent rooms, Walker said.

In the last two years, the number of students who requested housing increased by 150 students more than the previous year, Walker said.

Housing reached its peak occupancy last fall with 3,944 students living on campus. Forty-nine of those students were in temporary housing with RAs who typically live alone.

By mid-spring quarter, 3,602 students lived on campus—which is 93 percent occupancy.

To deal with the increase in housing applications Western had leased spaces in the New York Apartments for 46 beds, which is approximately 15 apartments.

These apartments are located just a few blocks off campus on 22nd Street. Western also created triple beds, with more than 300 on campus.

"We have to be creative," Walker said. "We don’t want to build a lot of expensive buildings and then when the Baby Boom echo dies have empty rooms that the current students have to pay for.