University of Missouri Forced to Close Dorms Due to Lack of Students
The fallout from the Mizzou campus protests of last fall continues.
The Washington Examiner reports.
Mizzou closes two dorms due to lack of students
Following a drop in students applying for housing, the University of Missouri will not be placing students in two dorms for the fall 2016 semester.
Mizzou will be closing the Respect and Excellence halls (ironic names, given the circumstances) in order to utilize dorm space “in the most efficient manner” to keep costs down.
In March, the university announced that it saw a sharp drop in admissions for the coming school year, and will have 1,500 fewer students. This will lead to a $32 million budget shortfall for the school, prompting the need to close the dorms in order to save money.
“Dear university community,” wrote interim chancellor Hank Foley in an email to the school back in March. “I am writing to you today to confirm that we project a very significant budget shortfall due to an unexpected sharp decline in first-year enrollments and student retention this coming fall. I wish I had better news.”
The school announced a 5 percent cut “to all annual recurring general revenue budgets” and an “across-the-board hiring freeze for all units on campus.” The dorm closures are only the latest cost-cutting measures.
The school announced the closures on its Residents’ Online Access to Rooms website. The two closed dorms contained Freshmen Interest Groups, special communities for first-year students housed within the dorms, which the university said could be available in other dorms.
“Due to an expected decrease in the number of students needing housing at Mizzou this year, Residential Life will not be offering space in Respect or Excellence Halls at this time,” the university announced.
Comments
Oh, nothing like the consequences of letting the inmates run the asylum. There is adult behavior or diversity advocacy. Too bad the college chose poorly.
Let me say one good thing about Missouri. Over spring break the black men’s student association sent a bus load of student volunteers across the South. They stopped at our old folks home and were very kind to the residents.
Who is staying away? Precious snowflakes or serious students who want a real education?
I’d say both but mostly serious students.
The snowflakes will never be satisfied until their unreasonable list of reasonable demands (in their own minds) are met. They’ll go find an Ivy that will take them, especially if they are minorities with even a decent GPA as they are a hot affirmative action commodity these days.
The serious students are gone because the university is willing to cave to idiots, and the silent majority that quietly mocks the snowflakes gets fed up enough and moves on.
They should be fine though. Being such a large state university, they will get a flood of apps next year from less-qualified students, typically below their standards, that they will have to accept to get their budget back in line.
This is why I raised my kids to depend on themselves for college. There are probably a handful in my home state that I would consider giving my money to, contingent on the successful completion of a 2 year degree at the local community college. One is working on a BSN and the other flunked out of two different schools. Guess which one gets my support.