Towson reports largest incoming freshman class in university history

By Jaylen Beaner-Walker, Senior Editor

Towson University welcomed its largest incoming freshman class in university history this August.

This year, nearly 6,000 students have joined the TU community, according to an email sent by university president Mark Ginsberg.

Of those students, 3,250 are freshmen.

“I feel like that’s a good thing that each year the freshman class is getting bigger,” said freshman Elvia Gonzales. “It just means more people are going to college.” 

Gonzales currently lives in a Living Learning Community (LLC) for the College of Business and Economics. She said being in the LLC allowed her to move to campus early and meet new people, which helped her transition as a new college student.

“I’ve already met a lot of people, especially with like the short time that I’ve been here,” Gonzales said. “It’s been very supportive for me and it’s helping my transition as well.”

To provide housing for an influx of incoming students, Housing and Residence Life placed students in temporary triple dorms, where three students are placed in one dorm room instead of the typical two-person dorm. 

There are about 146 fall triples, according to Neil Andrito, the director of residence life.

“We try to ensure that we have enough space held for first year students coming in, that we’re also able to accommodate the amount of space that our returning students have indicated that they need,” Andrito said.

He said that Residence Life is focused on creating meaningful experiences for students through its residential curriculum that provides lessons on health and wellness, individual identity and navigating important conversations with roommates.

“How can we find places to grow, adapt, shift (and) change, to make sure we’re really providing our current students with what they need to be successful?” he said.  

The Division of Student Affairs has also shifted its focus to the needs of the growing student population.

“From maximizing our housing capacity on campus, to adding new food concepts over the summer, to enhancing expanding living-learning communities on campus, we have been intentionally preparing for the growth in our student community,” said Vernon Hurte, vice president of student affairs. 

Over 19,500 students are enrolled in classes this semester. 

Hurte said the Division of Student Affairs and other leadership divisions are ready to support the academic success of the growing student population.

“If I could give each student, especially our new students, some advice, it would be to not shy away from using all the many resources available to them here at Towson University,” he said.