Things appear to be getting a little tight in OSU’s dorms.Ohio State’s undergraduate residence halls are nearing capacity, and if undergraduate housing is not expanded, the performance of students at this university could suffer.Complaints over lack of space in undergraduate housing are nothing new to OSU’s residence hall system. Just recently, OSU attempted to increase the housing density of North Campus by renovating Neilwood Gables and converting the graduate dorms of Siebert and Morrison into undergraduate housing.While this solution may have temporarily eased the overcrowding problem, it appears to have backfired. The situation of graduate housing was in no way improved by the elimination of two graduate dorms. Also, even with the new spaces, and every available study lounge being used for temporary housing, the residence halls are still nearing capacity. In another attempt to solve dorm overcrowding, OSU is expected to create 1,000 more residence hall spaces over the next three or four years by building a graduate and professional student dorm on South Campus and by converting Archer House and Lincoln Tower back into undergraduate housing.While the efforts of OSU to increase student housing are noble, they just don’t appear to be enough. Although 1,000 new spaces would help, OSU Residence Life estimated that 2,000 new spaces are needed to decrease density and increase residence hall quality.The importance of residence hall quality cannot be underestimated. Dormitories contribute to student academic success and retention. They are locations of involved learning, and a major part of the college living experience. Studies have shown that students who lived in residence halls during their freshman year are more likely to return for their sophomore year. Also, the graduation rates of students who lived in dorms are significantly higher than those who did not.In a period in which Ohio State is spending millions renovating and improving several aspects of campus life, the university has not shown enough concern for the needs of its students by failing to put enough resources into its students’ living environments. With all the changes taking place, the construction of a new residence hall or two would not put too significant a dent in the OSU pocketbook.The structure of the OSU student population is changing. The university has seen an increase in the percentage of first-year students choosing to live on campus and in the number of students wishing to return to residence halls the following year. Because of the changes, it is the job of Ohio State to meet the rising demands for campus living space.A new residence hall should be built to meet the 2,000 spaces needed to comfortably house undergraduates. To not supply these needed spaces could seriously affect the performance and retention of OSU students in the future.