Communication freshman Greg Porper listed five large, popular dorms - Allison Hall, Willard Residential College, 1835 Hinman, Elder Hall and Bobb-McCulloch Hall - when he applied for housing last spring.
He ended up in a dorm he never heard of: Group Residence for Environmental Engagement at Northwestern.
"I was devastated," Porper said. "I was under the impression that I would at least get one of my top five."
Porper, who said he is "apathetic" toward green living, transferred to North Mid-Quads Hall after he placed several requests to the housing office for a predominantly freshman dorm on South Campus.
"I love it. I became close with all the kids and it's in a good location," he said.
But multiple other freshmen who did not apply to GREEN were also placed in the house.
Emily Barth, a freshman GREEN resident, was "a little shocked" when she found out she was placed in the house, but said she has come to enjoy it.
"I've never been that interested in the environment, but since I've been here I've definitely become much more interested in learning about it," the Music freshman said.
Living in GREEN has been a good way to become close with a small group of people, Barth said.
"I'd still like to live in a big dorm, but I do really like the people here," she said. "It's a small dorm so you really get to know everybody."
Although GREEN is about emphasizing sustainability, the officers try to have an ongoing dialogue with the freshmen rather than impose house-wide rules, said Kim Castle, GREEN's social chair.
"(Being in GREEN) doesn't mean you have to live in the forest and not shower for a week," the Communication sophomore said.
Next year, Castle said she would like to see more upperclassmen who will set good examples for incoming freshmen.
"Plans for the house were not approved until after last year's housing deadline had passed for returning upperclassmen," she said. "All the upperclassmen who live here now willingly got out of their housing contracts to come live at GREEN."
The older students will be responsible for "guiding and navigating" freshmen, Castle said.
"The overall impression is that everyone is very enthusiastic," she said. "People who weren't interested in GREEN are excited and open to things we're really excited about."
Because there are more freshmen living in the house than anticipated, community building is the first priority, said Weinberg sophomore Jackie Beard, the dorm's president.
"We're a little bit late in the game because our government got started so late, but I think we'll be okay," the environmental studies major said.
The expectation for the residence's first year was that it would be a center for environmentalism and a meeting place for a community of activists, Beard said.
"What we ended up with were a lot of new students who are very energetic, and a few upperclassmen who are going to be really good leaders," she said.
According to University Housing, Porper's and Barth's predicament arose from an unexpectedly high demand for on-campus housing.
Although NU expected around 1,925 housing applications, they received 2,085, said Mark D'Arienzo, director of undergraduate housing.
"Admissions gives housing a rough number for the freshman class," D'Arienzo said. "However, Northwestern is becoming increasingly more popular, and more students who are being accepted off the waiting list are taking up on the offer."
Because of the larger number of students, available space on-campus became the housing office's main priority.
"If there was a vacancy, we put a freshman there," D'Arienzo said.
Originally, half of GREEN was supposed to be freshmen, he said. "GREEN only had nine returning upperclassmen, so there were a lot of spaces to be had there."
Beard and Castle said they were confused why multiple freshmen wound up in GREEN even though they didn't apply to live there. Both said they were told by university housing that more than 40 freshmen applied to GREEN, which combined with the nine returning upperclassmen, would have exceeded the house's capacity of 47.
However, Beard hopes that the enthusiasm of the new freshmen will be a good starting point for further developing the house.
"This year is going to be a foundation year," she said. "As long as we have a good community, that's all that matters."
y-chaey@northwestern.edu
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