By Vince Gasparini | February 5, 2024
Students who resided at Alumni Quad during the Fall 2023 semester have been moved to the Uptown Campus now that the University at Albany has met its housing demand for the Spring 2024 semester. Alumni Quad, located downtown on Western Avenue, housed 225 students last semester as the Uptown Campus operated its residence halls at 103% capacity, according to UAlbany spokesman Jordan Carleo-Evangelist.
Alden Hall, one of Alumni Quad’s residence halls.
Photo Credit: Vince Gasparini / The ASP
“All students who had been living on Alumni should be relocated Uptown by close of business today (01/16), with the remaining Res Life staff scheduled to be out this weekend,” Carleo-Evangelist said. “The plan had always been to have folks relocated Uptown by the start of the spring semester, similar to last year.”
Carleo-Evangelist also stated that Alumni Quad Res Life staff were transferred to “comparable positions” at the Uptown Campus.
The University hired a moving company to help any students who were moving to the Uptown Campus from Alumni Quad, according to the spokesman.
Nicholas Miller, a junior from nearby Troy majoring in communications, spent this past fall semester living on Alumni Quad. He was relocated to Empire Commons for the spring semester, which he says is “much better” than living at Alumni Quad, due to its proximity to the academic podium.
While living on Alumni Quad, Miller would have to take the bus to the Uptown Campus for his classes. “It would make me late for class sometimes depending on what the stops were,” Miller said. “Not to mention [going] back and forth was always a hassle because you always had to make sure you make the bus.”
Cole McCracken was also relocated to Empire Commons after spending the fall semester on Alumni Quad. McCracken, who resided in Alden Hall, appreciated the solitary environment of Alumni Quad.
“I didn’t mind it personally because I like being alone sometimes,” he said. “It was a place for me just to go there [and] chill alone.”
Both Miller and McCracken noted the lack of food options on Alumni Quad, mentioning that there was only a small marketplace available to residents with limited options, which the students needed a meal plan in order to access.
“It was all cold food, like microwavable stuff,” McCracken said, mentioning that the options included Hot Pockets and frozen pizza.
“Other than [the marketplace] you didn’t really have an option to eat anywhere,” Miller said. “You really had to go to [Uptown] Campus and eat every day.”
Miller added that most days he would have to stay on the Uptown Campus to have dinner and then go back to his dorm at Alumni Quad later at night.
Carleo-Evangelist stated that UAlbany will continue to maintain Alumni Quad in case of possible need for use in the future, and that they will continue to monitor trends in housing demand in order to “better understand whether Alumni’s future is as a residence hall or something else.”
“The university has not decided to change the use of Alumni Quad,” he said. “We have needed it as housing both of the last two fall semesters, so it’s a bit premature to speculate. Could it be offices? Academic space? Something else? The University has an open mind about it.”