Students react to decision to make Freedom’s Landing only on-campus housing option for upperclassmen

Nathan Woodruff

Georgia Southern University students shared their thoughts on the decision to make Freedom’s Landing the only on-campus housing option for upperclassmen starting next semester.

It was announced earlier in the semester that University Housing will only allow upperclassmen to live at Freedom’s Landing in order to free up space for an expected increase in the fall 2019 freshman class.

Javan Hutchison, junior electrical engineering major and resident at Watson Hall, said he loves living at Watson because of the sense of community.

“If they want to move upperclassmen to Freedom’s [Landing] then maybe they should allow upperclassmen to have different rules because they’re treating us different just because we’re upperclassmen,” Hutchinson said. “I love my Watson community, that’s why I’m still there.”

Kosi Odikpo, junior electrical engineering major, found affordability in student housing and now has to change his plans.

“This basically forces me to find some way to make enough money to be able to stay on campus. Part of the reason I even stayed on campus is because they had affordable living rates but now I can’t even do that,” Odikpo said. “I have no way of signing a lease either since I’m not 21 yet. All in all, it’s pretty frustrating.”

Norman Stringer, a senior electrical engineering major, says he felt displaced by the decision.

“Overall I feel that displacing all of the upperclassmen and putting them into Freedom’s [Landing] is not the best choice. It seems to be a very sudden decision that will have a large impact on all upperclassmen who live on campus,” Stringer said.

Nathan Woodruff, The George-Anne News Reporter, ganewsed@georgiasouthern.edu