Mercer University is getting more student housing.
Construction is underway for new Loft apartments at Mercer Landing, but we learned some students say one new building is not enough because there's a housing shortage on campus.
More than 100 Mercer University students have signed a petition requesting the school allow students to live on campus during their fourth year.
Right now, the university only guarantees on-campus housing for the first three years, meaning seniors do not have guaranteed housing.
"Your fourth year, you don't have to live on campus, but you can," said junior Hayley Hudson.
She signed the petition even though she has housing next year because a lot of her friends are trying to figure out where they are going to live.
Hudson says she received an email last month notifying her of the housing shortage.
"It was very hurtful to receive that message, because it's hard not to feel like Mercer is not prioritizing the masses of new students they are trying to bring in," Hudson said.
According to Kyle Sears with Mercer University, enrollment increased 41 percent over the past six years, and the new lofts at Mercer Landing will add 306 beds and 316 parking spaces to help accommodate the growth.
Hudson says that is simply not enough.
"The issue is the school is growing fast, which is great, but the options for housing and other accommodations have not been accelerating as fast as the number of students," Hudson said.
In a statement, we got from Mercer University they said:
"We view it as a positive that so many seniors want to live on campus, and we're working as fast as we can to increase capacity for them to do so."
Hudson feels it is not fast enough, and now some juniors are scrambling to find a place to stay next year.
Below is the full statement from Mercer University:
As I told you on the phone, Mercer requires freshmen, sophomores, and juniors to live in campus housing, so they get priority. We then provide on-campus housing for seniors on an as-available basis. Because of the growing demand for on-campus housing, we began construction last month on another 306 beds at Mercer Landing. When that project is completed in 2019, the University will have added more than 1,000 beds of student housing since 2011. The Office of Residence Life provides resources for students who need or want to live off-campus, including guidance on how to find off-campus housing around Macon. We view it as a positive that so many seniors want to live on campus, and we’re working as fast as we can to increase capacity for them to do so.
Larry D. Brumley
Senior VP for Marketing Communications & Chief of Staff