Nobili, S. Alameda to be open for undergraduates

By Nicole LaPrade

Due to increasing demand for on-campus housing and larger incoming class sizes, Nobili Hall and the Alameda South apartments will be opened for undergraduate housing starting next school year.

"We're basically trying to expand to what we think will be a greater demand. Just in terms of the school getting larger, we need more bed space," said Director of Residence Life Scott Strawn.

Nobili, the current Jesuit residence, will be open to just over 60 juniors and seniors. The Jesuit community will be moving to a new residence. It will not house a particular Residential Learning Community. Instead, officials hope that those students living in Nobili will help figure out what kind of community they would like to see.

"We didn't want to go and make that decision without student input because, ultimately, this is for you guys," Phil Kesten, associate provost of residential learning communities, said.

"We'll see if we can encourage and excite, entice the students who live in Nobili to engage in a conversation about what Nobili could be, say next year," Kesten said. "Fundamentally, it's rewarding because we're giving students the opportunity to create the environment in which they live and learn."

Alameda South will return to housing undergraduates after a three year stint as graduate student housing. Next year, the property will house sophomores and upperclassmen from the Communitas RLC.

Currently, Communitas fills all of Campisi Hall and half of Sanfilippo Hall. Next year, Xavier RLC will have all of Sanfilippo, with Communitas restricted to only Campisi.

"Last year the demand for returners, for students wanting to return to Xavier, was quite high and we weren't able to meet it because of the split," Strawn said.

In Alameda South, there will be no freshmen, Strawn said. "The number of freshmen going into Communitas will be a little bit lower than usual just for this one year until we can get the balance worked out."

Instead, there will be additional freshmen in Xavier due to the increased building space given to the community.

Strawn emphasized the advantages that the two communities would have for upperclassmen looking for a quiet place to concentrate on their studies.

"Alameda South, being at a little bit of a distance, is going to provide, I think a nice kind of quieter community. And Nobili, with its location on campus, a) it's a beautiful location on campus, and b) there's not any other residential students living in that area, so we think it will provide kind of a nice environment for upperclassmen who want to focus in on living in community with one another but really want to focus in on academics," Strawn said.

Two other beneficiaries of the increased housing available are transfer students and those students returning from studying abroad, he said.

Contact Nicole LaPrade at (408) 554-4546 or nlaprade@scu.edu.