Edited: Housing in Oxford and On-Campus Hard to Come By

The University of Mississippi announced on Friday that the university's population had grown to more than 20,000 students. Due to the increase of students on campus over the last few years, the University of Mississippi has been addressing the need, starting with the Department of Student Housing building three new residential colleges.

Last spring, Miller Hall was torn down to make way for a new dorm complex. Construction for the three residence halls will continue throughout this year until the fall of 2012 when they will officially open. Each residential hall will contain 242 beds each with enough space for 726 students. The complex will be living and learning communities for students that have common interests with majors or other school activities. These communities will likely consist of faculty interaction much like how the current residential college function today.

The record-breaking freshman class of 2015 includes 3,751 students who, according to university policy, are required to live on campus for one year. This year's 15.6 percent increase in freshmen has caused upperclassmen to have limited options when it comes to on campus housing. All residence halls have been reserved for freshmen only, leaving only Campus Walk and Northgate apartments available for upperclassmen. The sorority sophomore pledge classes were directly affected by this change. Normally, sophomores are housed in Crosby Hall but this year are residing in nearby off- campus housing or their sorority houses. Regardless, many women are disappointed with its effect on their sorority. "It would have brought the whole pledge class together," said sophomore Lexi Schneider. "We have girls that live all over the place. You can tell a difference between our pledge classes' unity and the older girl's pledge classes."

However, many feel that the Housing Department is doing a great job considering the circumstances. Former RA Tirranny Nettles said, " It's like they were given a bad seed and are having to work with it. They are building more residential colleges so they will cost more and therefore will be paid off quicker."

The university's growth over the last few years is sure to continue, but according to the Department of Student Housing the updated housing will help meet the needs of new students. It also will provide traditional housing for upperclassmen should they desire to live in traditional housing. Meanwhile, the University has plans to fix other areas of campus to address increased enrollment by renovating the Union