About 60 Gilbert Hall residents questioned where they would live next year at a forum with NIU food service and housing representatives.

The closing of Gilbert’s third floor and halting food service there on weekends was announced to Gilbert residents in a memo from housing services dated March 7.

Donald Buckner, student housing services director, said he was “sorry to see it end this way,” but the housing service’s decision to close Gilbert Hall’s third floor next year was made “because the state is forcing (NIU) into this situation.”

Buckner said Gilbert’s third floor would “most likely be used as office space” but added no decision has been made concerning the space.

One option considered by the housing service was closing all of Gilbert, but, to minimize the impact on students, the service decided to close only the third floor, he said.

“What we tried to do was find a balance between our economic situation and the students’ concerns,” Buckner said.

John Felver, housing service assistant director, said NIU “couldn’t control this situation if we wanted to.

“We don’t have a crystal ball,” he said. “Our only option was to react to the circumstances.”

In response to student concerns, Linda Tillis, also a housing service assistant director, said it is “hard to be convincing when so much of this is a result of economics.”

Many residents questioned the availablity of rooms next year, but Margaret Phillips, area coordinator of Neptune and Gilbert Halls, said “it appears that all those who want to get rooms on Gilbert Hall’s second floor will be able to do so.”

Phillips said there might be 35 openings for students at Gilbert next year.

But Gilbert third-floor resident Virginia Grunwald said Gilbert residents were not informed of the floor closing in time to look for apartments.

“If we had been given more notice, we would’ve had more options as far as where to live,” she said. “We could have used the news as early as possible.”

Buckner said he regretted the timing of the memo and said it was delayed partly because NIU was hoping for an Illinois tax increase.

“I think we have to adapt,” third-floor resident Gena Wilczak said.

Third-floor resident Denise Zeitlin said, “As a junior, I don’t want to spend the first few months (of the fall semester) getting used to a new roommate.”