Until space is made available in the residence halls, over 200 students may call a Western New York hotel "home."
An expected 150-student increase in the size of the fall 2003 freshman class, coupled with UB's failed bid to buy the University Inn for student housing, may force officials to temporarily house students in a hotel.
According to Joseph Krakowiak, director of University Residence Halls and Apartments, the plan will likely end the practice of placing overcapacity students in a full room.
While Krakowiak said that UB has not yet to choose a facility, he said UB plans to house only transfer students and upperclassmen in hotels.
"We will go through a purchasing procedure that will enable all interested hotels to bid on our business next fall," Krakowiak said.
Students will not live in the hotels for an extended period, Krakowiak said. This year, he noted, the University Residence Halls found rooms for all students within two days.
"Several years ago, residents were held at overcapacity for several months," he said. "The problem isn't worse. It's been worse."
Barbara Maier, president of Resident Assistant Council and a Resident Advisor in Spaulding Quadrangle, said the plan will help ease the transition to UB.
"New students will have somewhere to call home before they find a place on campus," Maier said.
Weston P. Cross, a residence advisor in Spaulding Quad, disagreed with the practice of housing only transfer students and upperclassmen in a hotel.
"I think upperclassmen have the first right to housing, not freshmen," Cross said. "That said, I think the hotel plan is better than the current overcapacity plan."
Each fall, UB accepts more students into residence halls than they have space for because a number of students leave for various reasons. Currently, overcapacity students are placed in full rooms.
During the fall of 2002, over 140 students were placed in full rooms.
UB's bid to buy the University Inn ended Jan. 30, after a period of negotiations that began during the spring 2002 semester.
"The timing of the deal was problematic," said Richard DiVita, president and chief operating officer of the University Inn. "We have no interest in selling the University Inn."
Dennis Black, vice president of Student Affairs, agreed that negotiations failed because of timing.
"We agreed that there was not enough time to make it work for fall 2003, so they will stay in business and we will look at other options," he said
Officials on both sides said that initially, UB wanted to rent space in the hotel for overcapacity housing, but talks quickly turned to a sale of the entire hotel.
"We approached them to rent space," Krakowiak said. "They essentially said, 'Don't rent us. Buy us.'"
According to Krakowiak, plans for the University Inn property included converting the 11-year-old inn into student housing and building additional structures on the site.
On Friday, Krakowiak met with his staff to discuss the hotel-housing plan. Several details of the plan remain sketchy, such as the level of amenities provided to the students who will stay in the hotels.
Carlos Williams, a junior sociology major who transferred from Jamestown Community College last fall, said he supports the plan but hopes UB will provide proper services.
"I would go along with it as long as they were willing to accommodate me," Williams said.
Krakowiak said that UB would provide transportation from the hotel to campus and that UB hoped to provide other anemities, such as meals and ResNet.
"Other things will depend on the corporation," he said.
Demand for residence hall living at UB remains high, despite the recent construction of several apartment complexes on North Campus, said Black.
"We have built new housing every year for the past five years and filled it before we were completed," Black said. "At one point last year, there were 500 students on the apartment waiting list."
University Residence Halls officials will look into hiring a firm to study the current housing master plan and determine a cause of action to eliminate overcapacity housing. By early summer, they hope to sign a contract with a firm.
Krakowiak said many universities throughout the country, including several in Western New York, already rent short-term space in hotels for overcapacity students.
Canisius College houses overcapacity students at the Adam's Mark Hotel in downtown Buffalo. SUNY Binghamton houses overcapacity students at a Holiday Inn in Vestal, N.Y.
"It's a trend throughout the industry," Krakowiak said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
