In light of the administration imposing new requirements that force juniors to live on campus, Tulane University should have expanded independent housing options. Alas, juniors are expected to continue living with roommates until they move off campus. 

In fall 2023, Tulane opened River and Lake Residence Halls, with Bayou and Fogelman Residence Halls following in fall 2025. While these residence halls have improved facilities and updated rooms compared to the older dorms, most layouts consist of two students in a double bedroom connected to another double bedroom through a shared bathroom.

These new dorms are an improvement over first-year housing with private bathrooms, compared to first-year accommodations. However, despite the upgrade, these dorms don’t give upperclassmen the opportunity to live in their own rooms. 

College should be a gradual step toward adulthood, and continuing to live in a dorm where students cannot host friends comfortably or set a personalized routine feels infantilizing. 

Each dorm features only one commercial-grade kitchen, which can restrict students who want to cook their own meals. This reduces students’ ability to make adult decisions about budgeting, meal planning and household responsibilities, skills just as critical to independence as academics.

While I enjoy my suite-style dorm, especially in comparison to my first year in Monroe Residence Hall, sharing a bedroom with a roommate and being required to have a dining plan makes me feel like I am still stuck in first-year housing. This sentiment is especially frustrating, knowing that previous sophomore classes had the option to live in Aron Residences, an apartment-style dorm, which is predominantly juniors now. 

Aron Residences provides kitchens and a more independent living environment, and it fills up almost immediately every year. As a result, juniors with priority for on-campus housing took the majority of available rooms in this dorm. Its popularity speaks volumes; students want options beyond suite-style living. 

While the new dorms were a necessary addition to campus, Tulane missed an opportunity by not investing in more apartment-style housing that would better prepare second and third-year students for life beyond Tulane’s bubble.

If Tulane is serious about preparing students for life beyond college, it needs to prioritize housing that reflects the independence of upperclassmen. Building or renovating apartment-style residences would be a significant step toward that goal. Students deserve housing that supports their transition into independence.