NIU residence halls, usually full in the fall semester, now report 285 vacancies scattered throughout the hall system.

Student Housing Director Donald Buckner said, “This is average for this time of year,” caused by the amount of freshmen leaving NIU after the fall semester.

In a memo distributed March 7, 1988, to Gilbert Hall residents, Buckner said NIU decided to downsize 1989’s freshmen enrollment by 500 students because of “statewide economic circumstances outside the university’s control.”

This resulted in a “sizable amount” of vacancies in residence halls which led to the proposed closing of Gilbert Hall’s third floor.

“It was logical to propose the closing of Gilbert’s third floor, because it’s one of the most expensive halls to operate,” Buckner said. “At the last minute, we decided not to close it because there was too much of a demand,” he said.

Most residence halls have double occupancy rooms and rent some as single rooms when available, Buckner said. Students rented 390 single rooms during fall 1989 and 275 singles in fall 1988, he said.

Residence halls house about 96 percent of NIU freshmen and occupancy has increased from 3,137 in fall 1988 to 4,544 in fall 1989, said Suman Gupta, a statistician with NIU’s Office of Budget and Planning.

However, the number of high school seniors applying to NIU has decreased from 13,788 in 1988 to 12,839 in fall 1989, she said. About 24,255 students attended NIU in 1988, and about 24,443 attended in fall 1989, Gupta said.