Madyson Brown
palmettoreport@gmail.com

(Rock Hill, S.C.) — Winthrop University is facing a housing shortage due to increased enrollment, as the school welcomed more than 1,000 freshman and roughly 350 transfer students for the fall 2025 semester.

Some spaces in the apartment-style dorms at the Courtyard at Winthrop and Walk2Campus, which are traditionally used to house upperclassmen, have specifically been reserved for freshmen.

A number of students have said they were not able to stay the rooms that they lived in during the spring semester.

“The third floor was being accommodated for the freshmen, like the newcomers, and we were kicked out of our rooms,” Elvira Larios, a design major, said. “I was about to be on the waitlist, so I had to search for a different room on a different floor at the last minute.”

The department of Residence Life also implemented a lottery system for housing for current students, which received some negative reaction. 

“It was a big incoming crowd of freshmen that were having a lot of complaints about housing applications. Event students on campus, because some didn’t turn their applications in on time,” said Adriana Williams, a sociology major who used to work for Residence Life. 

She said Residence Life heard from many students who working looking for help to have their housing issues addressed.

“It was nonstop emails and calls about the same stuff. Sometimes I would have to tell them the same things, sometimes I was able to help,” Williams said.

However, some students said they didn’t have problems finding housing.

“I did not have any issues reaching out to ResLife. I want to say throughout my transition with moving, especially as far as getting into a single room, they were very helpful,” said Soniyah Collins, a sophomore transfer student who plans to major in history.

Winthrop has experienced a lack of housing since it was forced to close and demolish two high-rise dorms in 2021.

In August, Kevin Butler, the school’s chief financial officer and vice president for finance and business affairs, briefed the Board of Trustees about efforts to increase the housing options on campus.

The plan, which the board supports, for the design of a residence hall of 425-500 beds to be completed by late 2027.

The proposed pod-style residence would include 10 to 12 two-bedroom spaces, around a bathroom in a hall. Each hall also would have a kitchen, study room and meeting room, according to an email from President Edward Serna to the faculty and staff.