Studying in the bedroom is a bad idea – but what if that is the only choice?

Some students arriving at Ohio State this fall may have to live in what used to be a study lounge, now converted into a residence hall room.

“It has been an ongoing strategy over the years,” said Jenny Klein, director of residence life at OSU. “We have to put students in study lounges until permanent rooms become available.”

At OSU, autumn quarter brings in many freshmen – often too many to put into regular residence hall rooms.

“About 150 to 250 students do not tell us that they are not coming back the following school year,” said Toni Greenslade, director of OSU’s housing assignments. “Instead of just not showing up, we would appreciate their consideration in telling us that they are not returning the following quarter.”

This type of temporary housing is only set up in the south campus residence halls which include Baker, Park, Smith, Steeb and Stradley halls. The majority of first-year students at OSU live on south campus.

“What happens is OSU’s maintenance and housekeeping service begins setting up these living arrangements in August,” Greenslade said. “Our goal is that we only have students living in these temporary rooms for the first couple weeks of the quarter.

“Some quarters we are successful; others we are not,” Greenslade said.

The study lounges that are converted into residence hall rooms feature a loft bed, desk, dresser, file cabinet, lamp and a bar to hang clothes on for each student assigned to the room.

“Our job is to go in and clean these lounges and prepare them for the students,” said Hilda Winston, employee in the department of building services.

Winston said there is one study lounge on each floor of the south campus residence halls. The low rise residence halls have four floors and the high rise residence halls have 11 floors.

Some find it hard to understand why the university still turns the study lounges into boarding rooms when the number of students admitted is likely continue to increase over the years.

“It is difficult to fit, say, three people into one little study lounge,” Winston said. “It is a bit overpowering with all of the electric running through one little room. It could start a fire.”

Since enrollment is on the rise at OSU, the university seems to have no other choice than to make whatever accommodations are necessary for the incoming class.

“To deny a student housing would be like saying ‘no’ to their hopes and dreams of coming to OSU,” Klein said. “That is not what we want to do.”