As a freshman, the move to tower three sophomore year is somewhat of a rite of passage. Large doubles, apartment style living, and common rooms on every floor are definitely things all freshmen look forward to after their year in the cramped corners of tower two. But this year, some lucky freshmen were given the luxury of life in tower three. Eli Berk-Rauch, NYU Shanghai Manager of Residential Life, explained that due to the increase in class size from 300 to 340 students, tower two is simply no longer large enough to house all the freshmen. There are currently three floors of freshmen living in tower three. Given that the school is most likely planning on continuing growing at the same, if not a larger rate, many students are wondering whether or not NYU will move the dorms for the third time since opening in 2013. “The university is examining all options to house students next year,” Berk-Rauch said.He also added that residential life hasn’t received any responses from students regarding the issue. Residential life has been working hard to configure furniture and arrange a pleasant living space for all students. Sophomore Michael Zhang lives on a floor of primarily freshmen. While it doesn’t bother him, he does harbor some resentment about his situation. “It’s fine so far, I rarely talk to them. Sometimes they’re a bit too energetic. I do feel like we should keep the tradition of freshmen all living together in a separate building though. If I were to choose, I would much rather live with people in my own grade,” Zhang said. However, not all students seem to mind. Sophomore Key Hinerman rarely sees any freshmen. “Personally, it doesn’t bother me that much. I live on a much higher floor and I don’t see them that often.” Hinerman said. It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the year plays out, especially since next semester the number of study away students will most likely increase. The new Business of the Political Economy curriculum at Stern started this year, and has students study away in Shanghai their spring semester sophomore year. But for now, everyone in all grades seems to be peacefully coexisting.

This article was written by Isabel Adler. Please send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit:Allison Chesky