The Spire

Ben Lepper ‘25 & Kate Santini ‘27

Editor-in-Chief & Chief News Editor

Over the past few years, Holy Cross has grown tremendously in popularity, with the most recent admissions’ cycle surpassing over 10,000 applicants and yielding a record-breaking 17% acceptance rate. In spite of the school’s selectivity, over-enrollment has become a massive issue. The school fully intends and plans on keeping class sizes the same, but the yield continues to rise. While rising in the ranks of Jesuit, liberal arts schools is an objectively positive thing for the school, alumni, and students alike, it has led to a steady decline in available living space.

During Accepted Students’ Day, a 200 square foot triple in Brooks Hall was shown to prospective students and families. This has been a normal sight for the past three incoming classes and continues to be the reality for the incoming class of 2029. Based on predictions of another large incoming class, more incoming first-year students will be placed in triples and quads compared to previous years.

In a statement obtained by The Spire, the Office of Residence Life and Housing stated that this major change could very well be a positive one, as their “observations show that students in triples have a comparable residential experience to those in doubles, with no significant differences in roommate conflicts. In fact, we find that students in triples tend to communicate more openly about expectations, whereas those in doubles may make more assumptions about their roommate.” 

However, according to the Director of Residence Life and Housing, Antonio Willis-Berry ‘13, the department is aware that this is a major adjustment and will be working through the summer to implement needed changes. He shared that, “Residence Life and Housing has worked to be more transparent with students and families about the realities of triples as a part of our inventory” and guaranteed that “every [incoming] student will have access to a bed, desk, desk chair, dresser, and wardrobe.” Speaking on behalf of his department, he added that “we are working to reexamine which rooms can be triples and which rooms we should stay away from. The final number of triples has not yet been decided upon and that decision will not be finalized until Summer 2025.”

Current students who were placed in 200-foot triples and 400-foot quads their first year experienced varying levels of success. We had the opportunity to chat with a few to gauge how living in a triple or a quad impacted them. Please note that the students quoted below gave direct permission for their responses to be shared. 

Based on the conversations we had with students, Residence Life’s claim that students in triples tend to grow closer and share with one another appears to be mostly true. According to Maggie Whelann ‘28, her roommates made living in a triple easy. “I truly don’t think I could find two better people to share this room with,” she said. Laylah Espaillat ‘28 echoed this sentiment, sharing that, “at first, I was a little worried about living in a forced triple, but it worked out really well! I’m friends with both of my roommates and I think we’ve made our room a very homey experience for us.” She concluded that “I am definitely grateful for the experience and grateful to have them as roommates and friends!”

Even in instances where students connected well with their roommates, the lack of space in triples raised a recurring issue. “There is significantly less space for storage and overall living,” said Whelann. “While I did have a great experience, there were so many times I wished I had more space.” Patrick Brown ‘28 similarly felt that his experience living in a triple was very difficult due to spatial constraints. “We don’t have much room and everything can get very cramped.” The Spire’s very own Aiden Konold ‘26 relayed that living in a triple his freshman year “made it incredibly difficult to host my new friends and hang out. On the occasions that I did have friends over, we had to sit on either the floor or my lone desk chair because there was very little room.”

Tegan Hannify ‘28 also lamented the lack of space. “The room itself is not designed to house more than three people,” she said. “It’s crammed and there’s very little storage space. For example, if my roommate is sitting at her desk, I literally have to reach around her to get clothes out of my dresser. And if she’s getting stuff out of her dresser, I have to wait until she’s done to leave the room. We are on top of each other, and that can be bad when one of us is sick, as one of us can easily catch it from the other.”

Unfortunately, some students claim that their forced housing arrangements, both in triples and in quads, had a serious impact on their mental health. Dana Lepper ‘27 is one of these students. “Being placed into a quad forced me to live in an environment that was extremely detrimental to my well being,” she said. “Despite rooms being open down the hall, we were forced to live together, where nobody had any privacy. I did not have a desk chair or my own dresser, as there was simply not enough room for each person’s needs to be accommodated.” Like Lepper, many students cited a lack of privacy and roommate disputes as being detrimental to their mental health and overall adjustment to campus life.

While in previous years, students received favorable housing selection times after being placed in a triple or quad their freshman year, that practice has ended. “I was surprised that they didn’t give residents in triples or quads priority for housing or any benefit for being in a forced room,” said Whelann. “I got one of the last housing selection slots, which is no big deal, but it would’ve been nice to get some sort of benefit or preference for housing in another year.” Hannify was also surprised that students placed in triples and quads do not receive any sort of benefit. “I’m paying the same amount for room and board as everyone else but I have worse accommodations,” she said. “I think that’s one of the most unfair aspects of it.”

The recent news of an increase in forced triples and quads has faced opposition from members within the Holy Cross community. Lepper was particularly dismayed, sharing that “I am shocked and disappointed to see Residence Life choosing to continue forcing students to live in situations that do not respect their needs for personal space and privacy.” 

While students living in triples tend to become close, they generally do not have the same living experiences as those in doubles. Even with the furniture to accommodate three or four roommates, the size of the room does not allow for a comfortable layout which increases the anxieties of first-year students adjusting to campus life. 

While there is no single solution to the present predicament, multiple departments will be expected to work together to brainstorm ideas mitigating the housing shortage. One such solution being proposed is opening up study abroad and maymester opportunities to first-year students to reduce the stress on housing. While Holy Cross’ rise in popularity is undoubtedly a good thing, the administration must address these issues before they are exacerbated.

Featured image courtesy of College of the Holy Cross

Web Edited by Zexuan Qu ’28