In Summer 2017, 12 bedrooms in the freshman buildings are being converted back into study lounges.

In the Fall 2016 Quarter, roughly half of the dorm room beds at California State University East Bay were prioritized for first-time freshmen.

Although in October 2013, the study lounges were converted into bedrooms and 48 upperclassmen dorms converted to hold six students instead of four, additional action was attempted to further expand the available bed space such as the expansion of off campus housing. “However, this past year, the State Fire Marshall requested those rooms be left unoccupied,” according to Martin Castillo, housing Director from 2010-2016 and current Vice President of Student Affairs.

The study rooms in the freshmen dorms were converted into windowless bedrooms that, “were originally approved by the SFM a couple years ago,” according to Castillo. It was the Housings department’s decision to convert the rooms after Castillo requested permission from Chancellor White to expand housing and was denied.

These conversions added 120 beds to the university housing increasing the total from 1530 to 1650.

Yet this was not enough, said then housing Director Castillo, and an additional 90 beds were rented through the University Village on Carlos Bee Blvd., through a master lease.

With a fall enrollment of 1,700 freshmen and 2,200 transfer students in 2015, California State University East Bay has attempted further changes to housing in order to accommodate the increasing number of student applying for on-campus housing According to Jim Zavagno, Associate Vice President of Facilities, Development and Operations, the campus Facilities, Development and Operations department performed the construction.

After a failed attempt to receive permission and funding from the Chancellor’s office, these conversions were the only way to make more room for students, according to Castillo.

Fifth-year history student Cristian Sanchez, having lived in both a double and a triple suite felt surprised that he and his roommates were able to keep their sanity living with so many people in such a small area, specifically during midterms and finals.