First-year overenrollment shifts new students into a hotel and fraternity complex

Record first-year enrollment this year forced the University to house students in a hotel, former fraternity housing units and off-campus apartments.

Starting this fall, first-year students were placed in nontraditional housing options including the Pennsylvania Apartments on North Dithridge Street, the Hampton Inn hotel and Frat House No. 7, a building part of the on-campus fraternity complexes. Students say they have adjusted to living in unusual housing but are still concerned about access to food, laundry and the distance from campus.

Typical first-year housing, such as the Litchfield Towers, Lothrop Hall and Sutherland Hall are full above traditional capacity, with some buildings converting floor lounges into more rooms. The Hampton Inn, a hotel located on Hamlet Street, is housing approximately 230 first-year students.

Matthew Sterne, vice chancellor for Business Services, said the University is striving to ensure that first-year students are getting the same Pitt experience despite unusual housing. 

“As the University’s reputation grows and more students apply each year, we will continue to find ways to make sure everyone has a spot,” Sterne said. “In the past, this included using Carlow residence halls in 2022 and local hotels during COVID. While these nontraditional options aren’t the norm, they’ve helped us keep our promise to support students as they begin their Pitt journey.”

The new Campus Master Plan, which was updated this year since its release in 2018, included new ideas for on-campus housing. These potential ideas include building a Tower D, converting the William Pitt Union and a new hillside housing building above the Recreation and Wellness Center. 

University spokesperson Jared Stonesifier emphasized that the housing ideas in the plan were preliminary, explaining that they were developed from extensive research and feedback.

“The plan will be presented to the Board of Trustees for approval in December,” said Stonesifer. “Each project within the plan will require individual approval to proceed through the planning, design and construction process.”

Tyler Pipon, an undecided first-year, is one of 25 students currently living in Frat House No. 7 on Allequippa Drive. Despite it being an unusual first-year dorm, Pipon said he enjoys being placed there because it “feels like a little community of its own.”

“Every other dorm is giant and has a bunch of people living there, but I know most people living in the frat house. We kind of got our own little thing,” Pipon said.

Isaiah Galvas, an undecided first-year student on a pre-med track, also lives in Frat House No. 7 and said he shares his living space with two fraternities and other first-year students. The Delta Sigma Delta dental fraternity is located on the bottom floor of the building, and the rest is occupied by the Pi Kappa Alpha social fraternity and other first-year students. 

Galvas said he wasn’t concerned about living among fraternities, despite them throwing parties in the building. 

“Sometimes it’s a mess outside after parties are thrown,” said Galvas. “But it’s only been loud so far when they throw parties every few weeks.”

Residents in both Frat House No. 7 and the Hampton Inn report issues with not having access to laundry facilities in their building. 

“A big negative was definitely the laundry at first. The first almost third of the year, they had to ship it off [to be done,] or you had to do it somewhere else in a different building,” said Daniel Chichava, a first-year biochemistry major. 

Sterne said starting Sept. 26, a new in-building laundry facility opened in the Hampton Inn. Prior to then, students were offered wash, dry and fold services free of charge. Chichava said the new laundry facility is an improvement. 

Pipon said the laundry in Frat House No. 7 was often broken or in use, causing him to have to use another laundry facility in a nearby dorm building. 

“Laundry is the one big negative,” Pipon said. “Everything is kind of broken in Frat House No. 7. There’s only one laundry machine for the whole building, so sometimes we just do laundry in Panther Hall.” 

Chichava, a Hampton Inn resident, said he found issues with the Inn’s distance from campus, as well as his limited access to food. 

“It’s kind of removed from the other events that are happening in the quad or in the general central campus area,” Chichava said. “Being able to access food is definitely something that I have to plan more around.”

To help combat the Inn’s lack of access to food, the University has offered pop-up events in or near the building from companies such as Poppi, Saxbys and Smokeland Barbecue.

Overenrollment and the resulting housing shortage sparked backlash from students and their parents among the first-year class. Stonesifer said Pitt is working to address the issue and develop new housing solutions for the future.

“Every person who has reached out to Pitt on this issue, students and family members, has received a response or has otherwise been included in meetings with Pitt officials,” Stonesifer said. “We are actively working to address any continued concerns.”