With summer approaching, students are getting ready to move into summer housing. For the 200 students living on campus for the summer, everyone will be making the move to Flynn Hall.

Though some students find moving to a different dorm for just three months an inconvenience, Director of Residence Life Aaron Macke said there are many reasons why students are required to move to the designated hall.

One of those reasons is the university’s summer conference program, which hosts many events and conferences on campus and offers housing to the guests to stay overnight or even for the whole week. The program is a large revenue generator for the university.

“In order for a housing department to create the housing space for these conferences, you need to clump. Housing departments take whoever might be their summer residents and move them into a summer hall,” Macke said. “It’s nice to not intermix your conference groups and your residence groups… It’s better to have all of Morrison, Brady, Dowling or whatever else to be a conference [hall].”

Junior Laura Clayton believes having to move to Flynn just for the summer could be frustrating for some students.

“I don’t think anyone wants to get up and move if they don’t have to,” Clayton said.

The designated summer hall this year is Flynn Hall because of the variety of room styles and nicer accommodations like air conditioning. Macke said safety is another reason for moving the students to Flynn Hall.

“We just can’t have students scattered all over,” Macke said. “It’s also safer, too. It’s more controlled entrance points, public safety knows where our students are, [Residence Life] know where our students are, and we can provide greater support if they’re together in one hall.”

Sophomore Nick Schlichter currently lives in Morrison, but he plans on living off campus for the summer and upcoming fall semester. Though he doesn’t see the situation as ideal, Schlichter said he understands the school’s perspective.

“It makes sense to keep [all the students] localized,” Schlichter said. “It still seems like a hassle, but I see where they’re coming from.”

Though it may be inconvenient, Macke noted that St. Thomas on-campus housing is still more flexible than other universities.

“Some schools will say, ‘If you’re not taking a summer course, we won’t house you.’ We don’t have that,” Macke said. “We are really flexible.”

Kassie Vivant can be reached at viva0001@stthomas.edu.