Students who live a minimum of eight hours from campus can store only a TV and mini fridge in school housing over the summer, according to a new storage policy that takes effect in May.  

Previously, students were allowed to store two boxes, in addition to a TV and mini fridge. 

Diane Philipp, vice president of student affairs, said this was a necessary change due to minimal space.

“The number of personal items stored by students over the summer has steadily increased over the years, and the amount of storage space is minimal and in some residence halls non-existent,” she said. 

According to Philipp, the changes come in part due to an increased number of summer visitors.

“The college now has a full visitor’s schedule in the residence halls throughout the summer, which keeps maintenance and housekeeping very busy,” she said. “It’s a challenge for them to sort, move and protect everything with this increase in traffic.”

Sophomore Mikayla Manna, a resident assistant in McIntyre Residence, said the dorm did not have enough storage space. 

“There were people who, instead of bringing a medium tote, ended up bringing a really big tote,” she said. “There’s less space for other people to store stuff. It was just really full. It’s a tiny room. There’s not really enough space for everyone to store stuff.”

Junior resident assistant from Simpson Residence Kevin Pynes said the dorm had minimal issues with storage space.

“Sometimes people wouldn’t reclaim their storage, so then we would be stuck with a box of someone’s things and they didn’t want it,” he said. “But someone would always claim those things at the end of the day.” 

Pynes said the change is inconvenient for those who live far away.

“I live 10 hours away — I live in Nebraska. So it is a little more of a hassle when you have to bring all that stuff up, especially when you’re relying on carpools,” he said. “The more stuff you bring, the fewer people you have in the car, the more expensive it is to get up here because you’re splitting the gas fewer ways.” 

Pynes said although there are storage alternatives for students, he thinks students will be frustrated by the policy.

“The college has recommended using storage units and pairing up with people,” Pynes said. “That is definitely a potential solution, but suggesting that to guys might end up being tricky. I am anticipating that there will be frustration with the policy come May.”

Manna said she thinks storage unit rates are manageable if students share with others.

“Storage units don’t end up being full,” she said. “I think that if people teamed up a bit more on that, then it would lower costs a little more.”

Senior James Golden said the new policy will be a challenge for students coming from far away.

“Fitting everything into a two-door vehicle and driving 17 hours with it is a lot to ask,” he said. “As a senior, I’ve never really had to deal with not having my stuff up here.”

Golden said students should scale down their wardrobes in order to transfer less from home to college.

“My take is that for male students in particular, you don’t need nearly as much clothing as you think you do,” he said. “Go with a micro-wardrobe. You can look nice without having to bring much clothing. It’s always kind of funny to me when I see guys bring six or seven full suits. You’re not going to wear a new suit every day of the week.”