Story By: Ariel Wright, Mandi Cordova, Sylvia Quintanilla, Jessica Winsor, Antonio Lucero, Melissa Aguilera

Students head to class on the International Mall. (Photo By: Antonio Lucero)

New Mexico State University is seeing a boom in population on campus. Currently, close to 18,000 students are enrolled at the university. A large portion of the rise is from incoming freshmen, which increased by 8.1 percent from last year.

University officials were not surprised by the increase.  According to Assistant Vice President of Enrollment Bernadette Montoya, the rise is attributed to an energy the university community is giving off to make it attractive to students.

 “People are really stepping up to the plate and telling the story of how great an institution this is and really ensuring that students are finding their way to New Mexico State,” Montoya said.

The down side is university facilities did not seemed prepared. Services, facilities and space are being strained all over campus.

Over Capacity

Sometimes an unusually large enrollment can mean over-booked dorms and students without housing. New Mexico State University housing was over capacity by 150 students when the 2009 fall semester began.

 “It’s not a mistake, unfortunately, but housing is an inexact science based on another inexact science. We follow our historical trends and make the best prediction we can,” Housing Director Julie Weber said.

There has been confusion about where the extra 150 students have been living. Rumors about the school putting students in local hotels have been denied by Weber, but confirmed by Montoya. Nine hotels around the NMSU campus were contacted regarding the rumors, but only the Las Cruces Comfort Suits confirmed it had students staying there for a short time at the start of the semester.

Garcia Hall student dorms are filled this semester. (Photo By: Jessica Winsor)

Students and community assistants (previously known as residential advisors) who were expecting to have a single dorm were notified as late as the day before they arrived that they would be receiving a roommate, at least temporarily.

A second-year resident of Garcia Hall said she was surprised and angry when she found out the day before she arrived she would have to share a dorm. She packed for a single room and had to mail belongings home due to lack of space.

When asked what her thoughts were on the situation she said, “It’s stupid there is no room for anything – dorm stuff or parking.”

Parking Please

Dormitories aren’t the only places affected with this year’s influx of students. According to the NMSU parking office, it sold 390 more commuter student parking stickers and 278 resident stickers than last year.

Students struggle to find space in this overly full NMSU parking lot. (Photo By: Jessica Winsor)

Unlike the increase of student parking, 175 less faculty stickers were sold when compared to last year’s numbers. Although there is an increase of stickers purchased, no major changes have been made by NMSU to increase the number of parking spaces available on campus.

Saving Space

Now that most students are living in the dorms with roommates, it’s time to consider space saving techniques.  Students can purchase a 3-to-5 drawer plastic container from Wal-Mart at about $15 – $20.  These have a

Space saving and security products available for dorms help ease the space crunch. (Photo illustration by: Ariel Wright)

variety of sized drawers that can hold anything from toothpaste to large sweaters, and they can also be stacked safely.  Another important idea to consider is a small fire proof safe, which can also be purchased at Wal-Mart for around $25.  These small discrete safes are a great way to protect all of your jewelry and electronics, even the new mini laptops.