A record-breaking 2,900 students have moved in to on-campus residence halls for the 2009-10 school year. “In the five years I’ve been here, I’ve seen a shift in the culture of the student body,” said Richard Swearingen, associate director of Housing and Residence Life. “This is becoming more and more a residential campus than it has been in the past.”

The increased number of students living on campus is partly due to out-of-state scholarships such as the Border-County Waiver, Swearingen said. It waives out-of-state tuition fees for students who live in select counties bordering Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina.

“We’re seeing more and more students coming from further away who need housing,” Swearingen said.

To help accommodate the increasing number of student residents, Centennial Hall, the latest addition built onto the ETSU campus, opened Aug. 27, and has become home to approximately 400 students, he said.

The six-story dormitory located on the eastside of campus was cleverly named to mark the campus’s 100th anniversary, which will be celebrated in the year 2011, he said.

“We really wanted to mark 100 years, give a few months, of serving students on ETSU campus,” Swearingen said.

Unique to other residence halls, Centennial offers two-bedroom interior entrance apartments, a mini-market and 24-hour card swipe security to the main lobby and to students’ apartments, Swearingen said.

Jarrod West, a first-year pre-business major, enjoys the amenities apartment-living has to offer.

“I like the individual rooms,” West said. “You don’t have to bother your roommate if you come in late or something; you get more privacy. And you can cook all you want.”

The two-bedroom apartments come furnished with living room and bedroom furniture, and a complete kitchen. Each apartment in the new building has its own bathroom as well.

Though Centennial Hall is mostly made up of two-bedroom apartments, it does have some efficiency, also known as studio, units as well.

Mark Giffin, a junior and pre-pharmacy major, lives in an efficiency apartment.

“It’s a little small, but it’s a big upgrade from last year,” said Giffin, who lived in Dossett Hall previously. “It’s really quiet. It makes campus life a lot easier.”

Though each unit has its own kitchen that allows room for students to store groceries and cook their meals, Centennial Hall offers a mini market, Swearingen said.

Students call the market ‘Buc Mart Junior,’ said Night-Shift Supervisor Aurore Auger, who was working behind the mini-mart counter. It’s there for students who want to buy convenience items and hot foods on the go.

Soon, residence advisors will hold a renaming contest for the little mart, Swearingen said. Students will use pennies to vote for the name they like the best. The winning name will be decided Sept. 15. The proceeds from the contest will be donated to Make-A-Wish Foundation.

As for the increasing number of students applying for on-campus housing, the Department of Housing and Residence Life has plans underway to expand campus living.

“The next project on deck is at Buccaneer Ridge Apartments up the hill,” Swearingen said. “Right now, it’s just called ‘Phase Three’ on the books.

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