Megan Reed, Campus Carrier Editor-in-Chief

Both incoming freshmen and returning students will have additional housing options this fall, including the likely addition of male students in Clara Hall.

Men have never been housed at the Ford Complex, and it is currently the only single-gender living area on campus. However, Lindsey Taylor, assistant dean of students for residence life, said housing male students in Clara would alleviate room designation issues that have accompanied a rise in male enrollment at Berry.

“We continue to have this increase in male students, which is a great thing. We want that,” she said. “What we don’t have is the ability to maximize the use of our space, and what I mean by that is when I go to do gender designations for the upcoming year, I go based off of some averages from the past few years to give me an idea of what the next class should look like. That is a very imperfect process.”

Taylor said that because current students go through the room selection process before the college has definite numbers for the incoming freshman class, some current students are displaced over the summer and are reassigned to a different residence hall.

Clara was chosen for male students because of its single rooms with bathrooms, which some students request or need, as well as its triple rooms. Male students have also requested to live in an all-male residence hall, which Berry does not currently offer, and Clara could be a solution, Taylor said.

Both freshmen and upperclassmen would be housed in Clara.

College President Stephen R. Briggs said the option of opening Ford for male students has been in discussion for several years and that the decision is part of an effort to “create a slightly different dynamic on the Ford campus.”

“We’ll also begin to use Ford Gymnasium more and more for some recreational activities as well,” Briggs said. “(We’re) just trying to rethink, reenergize what’s happening at Ford campus.”

Taylor also announced that students living in Poland Hall next academic year will be permitted to have pets.

“We have a lot of students who do some really cool things with animals every day, and animals are a large part of some students’ lives,” Taylor said. “We are going to take a year and we’re going to pilot this. We’re going to restrict it … there’s a lot of students who have allergy concerns and so Poland makes some sense.”

Both male and female students will live in Poland, and students with pets will need to register their pet with the college.

Taylor said that residence life staff is considering an online room selection process and that upcoming seniors hoping to live off campus will be asked to participate in a lottery.

Housing contracts and the $200 prepayment are due on March 20. Room selection is scheduled for April 12 and 14.