Sea Gull Square entrance. Image courtesy of Tessah Good.
Many Sea Gull residents received an email from Housing and Residence Life that has sparked controversy regarding their living situations. The email stated that those who have lived on campus for six semesters as of May 2025 may not live on campus anymore.
Salisbury University Junior Maxine Heckman said she was blindsided by this email.
“I’ve been upset with Sea Gull Square management and Housing and Residence Life for so long anyways because of other issues,” Heckman said. “I didn’t see this coming and the fact that it’s narrowed down to a select few students really aggravates me.”
The reason for this is Salisbury’s growing enrollment rate. SU’s last two freshman classes were among the largest in university history, according to the email. It is expected that this upcoming class will be the largest of them all.
“They could’ve managed their numbers better and selected the students they felt were a better fit for the university,” Heckman said. “I know that sounds mean but if you don’t have the capacity to keep that amount of students, or accept that amount of students, why are you going to boot out the students who are already here and already pursuing their degree?”
Salisbury University Junior Allie Rudasill said she had safety concerns after receiving the email.
“For me it’s the uncertainty of transportation,” said Rudasill. “I don’t have a car.
“If I have a late class, I don’t want to walk home by myself all that way.”
Rudasill said that on campus living was one of the main reasons she chose to come to Salisbury University.
“That was one of the main selling points when I was looking at schools here,” Rudasill said. “I was like that sounds really nice.”
However, Director of Housing and Residence Life Dave Gutoskey said this is something Salisbury University has never guaranteed to upperclassmen.
“We’ve never guaranteed juniors and seniors,” Goteskey said. “We’ve always accommodated anybody who would like to live on campus, but we guarantee our freshmen and sophomores.
Goteskey said this wasn’t an easy decision to remove upperclassmen from living on campus. The last time the university decided to implement this procedure was in 2013.
“We do have students who have benefited from living on campus for six semesters,” Goteskey said. “Now it's time to have our next freshmen and sophomores come in and benefit by being able to do that.”
Students can contact the Housing and Residence Life Office below Sea Gull Square for more housing information.
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By TESSAH GOOD
Staff Writer
Featured image courtesy of Tessah Good