Are there too many Sharks at NSU?

Veronica Richard, senior communication major, is The Current’s reporter.

Since my first semester at NSU three years ago, thousands of new Sharks have been welcomed to campus. This fall, we saw another record number of incoming freshmen at convocation–about 2,300 new Sharks. With NSU admitting so many students, many, including me, are beginning to wonder if NSU can accommodate them.

NSU’s population has been growing more each academic year. With a 30%-enrollment increase since 2017, we have had the largest fall enrollments of any private universities in the state, which on paper seems like a good thing.

On the one hand, it’s amazing to see our community blossom. An increase in enrollment allows for larger events, which in turn gives the school a larger university feel. Sharkapalooza of my freshman year was a completely online event with a lackluster feel. Seeing Sharkapalooza as a senior–with all new clubs, organizations, and so many new students enjoying the evening–made me think that maybe the increased enrollment has its perks.

On the other hand, I’m not sure if we are ready for the growing enrollment.

With the addition of Mako Hall to campus in August 2019, allowing for more than 600 new students to move in, I thought housing would never be a problem at NSU. At the time, it seemed as if our small university had more than enough housing. I was wrong.

Every year, more students are finding housing to be unavailable, and this year, on-campus housing is being advertised as completely unavailable for graduate students due to the high demand.

With the increase of new students, parking may also become a serious issue at NSU. As a commuter student, the struggle to find a parking spot before class has become more difficult every semester. The number of students driving and leaving cars on campus has grown exponentially, but the number of parking spaces allotted for students has not changed. The school needs enough parking spaces for undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff and the general public who are visiting NSU for the public library or any on-campus events. This may just be too many vehicles to handle.

I truly believe NSU was not ready for the influx of new students this semester. Driving around for over half an hour to find parking on my first day of senior year was not something I thought would ever occur at a small research university. It may be time to install more parking and dorm buildings or admissions may need to start looking at lowering enrollment.

At this rate, even though I want to welcome both new and old Sharks to the family, we may have to question if there are too many of us here at NSU.

Veronica Richard, senior communication major, is The Current’s reporter.