STATESBORO — The fear of having freshmen forced to live in common areas or in off-campus facilities never came to fruition as all Georgia Southern University first-year students had housing accommodations in residence halls. 

To meet the qualifications of having all freshmen live on-campus, 51 upperclassmen were given the opportunity to cancel their lease without penalty and find their own housing options.

“We sent an email to upper class students. If they were interested, they could fill out a form and then we went first come first serve with roommate groups and that type of thing,” said. Ryan Heins, housing director for business and administration. “That process helped get all of our first year students space on campus once we were able to finish that.”

GS signed a master lease agreement with Lakeview at Market District, formerly known as the Grove, and had 51 upperclassmen move from Freedom’s Landing or University Villas into the off-campus apartment complex. 

The closing of some of University Villas was what caused much of the uncertainty towards the end of summer. 

“When Villas closed in April and we didn’t know which buildings were going to be open, it was very much a state of flux for us,” Heins said. “This year we will just plan which buildings are open and which are not.”

Heins said that all students were booked the Wednesday before classes started and that none of the common areas that had been converted into living areas had to be used. 

McClain Baxley, The George-Anne Editor-in-Chief, gaeditor@georgiasouthern.edu