The record-breaking 2028 freshman class at Montclair State University has added to the toppling pile of issues and unanswered questions.
With a freshman acceptance rate of 91%, the influx of students is affecting several areas of the campus, including housing, parking, dining and class sizes.
Angie Franklin, a junior communication and media studies major, comments on the growing enrollment size.
Angie Franklin, a junior communication and media studies major, comments on the growing size of enrollment. Avery Nixon | The Montclarion
“Honestly, I’m quite tired of hearing, once again, that we have the largest class of freshmen that’s ever been included when people have issues with parking and people have issues with class size,” Franklin said. “I feel like the administration doesn’t listen to us when we say it’s overpopulated here.”
For resident students, securing a place to stay on campus has been a struggle. Some have been denied housing, leaving them stranded and scrambling to find another place to stay.
Senem Hilal, a senior sports communication major, shares her experience with finding housing.
Senem Hilal, a senior sports communication major, shares her experience with finding housing. Avery Nixon | The Montclarion
“The housing process was really frustrating,” Hilal said. “I had a room switch requested from the beginning of the semester, but I wasn’t able to move into a new space until mid-November because of how many people were wait-listed for housing.”
One option students have is finding off-campus housing, which can be costly and difficult for those who do not have the credentials required to rent themselves, such as a good credit score.
Another option is to live on the Bloomfield campus, located approximately 15 minutes away. Students can use the shuttle service to get to the main campus, but wait times are another unresolved problem.
Montclair State’s Office for Residence Life has not replied to The Montclarion’s request for comment.
If they were to commute, students would run into trouble when it comes to finding parking.
With 20 lots and two garages open to commuter students, they fill up very quickly, causing students to be late to class or to their on-campus jobs as they scope the campus for a spot.
According to Elyse Fernandez, media relations director for Montclair State, there are 6,200 available parking spaces at the main campus. At the Bloomfield campus, there are 450 open spaces.
While there are a large number of parking spaces, about 75% of Montclair State students are commuters. This means there are approximately 15,000 commuters coming to campus with the total amount of parking spots only holding around a third of that total.
A known last resort is to park in one of the further lots, such as lot 60. From there, students have the option to take the non-guaranteed shuttle or commit to a long walk, delaying them further.
Yet, the administration stands by their claim that there is a sufficient amount of parking spaces for the campus community at any given time.
“Despite the increase in enrollment, there are still enough spaces on campus to accommodate all students, faculty and staff as well as visitors,” Fernandez said.
Noor Alalwan, a senior psychology major and commuter, shares her thoughts on parking.
Noor Alalwan, a senior psychology major and commuter, shares her thoughts on parking at Montclair State. Avery Nixon | The Montclarion
“Parking on campus can be really annoying at times,” Alalwan said. “The Red Hawk Deck permit has been really helpful, however, guests come to park there and there will be a long queue at night if there was an event.”
Fernandez emphasizes the use of campus shuttles over commuting for those residing at the Bloomfield campus.
“We are encouraging students, especially those housed on the Bloomfield campus, to utilize the provided shuttle service to help reduce the need for on-campus parking,” Fernandez said.
Alalwan believes that parking should be improved, considering most students are commuters.
“All in all, I feel like the parking situation on campus should be better for both students and staff, especially since Montclair State is a commuter school,” Alalwan said. “I think they definitely need to prioritize that for everyone all around, so our commute involves less traffic.”
Fernandez says that the administration is working to meet the needs of commuters.
“[We] are reviewing parking allocation and capacity to ensure that the needs of commuting students and faculty are met, while also exploring further enhancements to our parking infrastructure,” Fernandez said.
If students grow hungry once they make it to campus, they’re faced with the impact this enrollment increase has on dining services. More students means more mouths to feed, and more mouths to feed results in longer wait times.
According to Brian Conway, the director of Dining Services, Montclair State has approximately 400 hourly and salary food workers. But the seemingly large number of helping hands still cannot combat the challenge of reducing long wait times.
At places such as Panera Bread in Cole Hall, the wait can reach up to 45 minutes. On the other hand, when placing an order at a Panera Bread location off-campus, it would typically take about five to 10 minutes to complete.
To further students’ frustrations, class slots are filling up faster and reports of the registration site crashing during peak times makes the selection process even harder.
Each semester, many students complain about how registering for classes once their assigned registration period opens can take upward of two hours. This often forces them to have a less-than-ideal schedule for the upcoming semester.
Kyle Horst, a senior history major, shares his thoughts on registering for classes.
“The increase of students at Montclair state has messed up the already strenuous process of registration,” Horst said. “Not only are classes limited and highly competitive now, but most courses are not even offered. Overall, the administration has overburdened the students and system with an influx of registration.”
As of Jan. 23, the administration has not made any additional plans for housing options, parking spaces, dining service employees or fixed registration issues.
