By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Barton Community College Director of Student Life Jonathan Dietz has
been involved with residential living at the college since 2013. At the college’s Board
of Trustees meeting Tuesday, he mentioned the highest residential hall
occupancy Barton recorded was the fall of 2019, when there was just over 400
students living in the dormitories. That was right before the COVID-19 pandemic.
With only two reported positive cases of COVID-19 among students this fall
semester, occupancy numbers are starting to return normal. Dietz stated there
are 398 students living on campus in the dorms this semester. Of those 398, 83%
of them are associated with athletics.
Dietz and the staff tries to make the students’ living experience as enjoyable as
possible.
"We identified spaces around housing and campus to put picnic tables out," said Dietz. "We have a lot of really beautiful outdoor areas on campus, but it hasn't always been the most accessible. We immediately got compliments as the tables started going in that it was easier to hang out."
Dietz noted in his presentation that students typically favor one dorm over the
others. The Cottonwood dorm building is usually the preferred choice. A few
students have addressed concerns paying the same amount for living in all the dorms, despite different amenities in the
older dorms.
"Some of those units, you're sharing a bathroom between six and nine people," said Dietz. "At Sunflower, Cottonwood and Bluestem dorms, it's pretty much a standard two people to a room and share a bathroom with another two."
Dietz said administration would look into price differences for the various
dorms.
Barton has the capacity to house 431 students. Dietz mentioned the dorm capacity at the college when he started in 2013 was approximately 278. That number has climbed to 431, largely because of the increase in athletic teams.