Stopher and Johnson halls, which were closed two years ago for renovations, will reopen in fall 2006 and be the new home of the Honors College. BETH RANKIN | DAILY KENT STATER

Credit: Carl Schierhorn

There will be a new attraction on campus this fall, and it won’t be the incoming freshmen.

Rooms for two new residence halls will open up and students have already begun applying for residency.

“Johnson Hall will be the new home of the Honors College,” said T.J. Logan, assistant director of Residence Services. “Stopher Hall is for incoming freshmen only. It will be a living community for Quest, a program for first-year experience students.”

About 40 percent of the students living in Johnson will be incoming honor students. The other 60 percent will be returning honor students, he said.

“Students who are planning to live in the new residences should expect the same feeling of Centennial Court B, D, E and F,” Logan said.

The new halls will feature a bathroom and air-conditioning in every room. They will also have higher ceilings and a lot more light to give the building a more modern look.

“The prices are also similar to the cost of living in Centennial Court B, D, E and F,” Logan said. “The exterior of the buildings was intentionally built in foot print of the old Johnson and Stopher Hall. This is because their location was significant to the background of the May 4 incident.”

Another feature of Johnson Hall is that it will have all of the offices for the Honors College inside the new building.

“This location of the Honors College is more convenient for students,” Logan said.

That convenience is not going unnoticed by some students.

“I think it’s good that the Honors College will be more centrally located. The current Honors Plaza is so far away from the rest of the campus that it feels like isolation,” senior theatre major Cassandra Neumann said.

There will also be activities in the residence halls.

“The joint Stopher-Johnson Hall Council will plan activities for the complex. The RAs will, as usual, plan their activities, and the Honors College Community Council students will plan honors events,” said Larry Andrews, dean of the Honors College.

No future plans have been made for more residence halls.

“By adding two buildings, we believe we have the appropriate number of beds to accommodate the students,” Logan said.

There will be a grand opening and an open house in the fall for the new halls. No date is set yet, but Logan looks forward to bringing the residence halls back to campus.

“I am extremely excited for the students having the opportunity to be at the location of Johnson and Stopher Hall,” Logan said.

Students will still be living in Lower Plaza. The office of International Affairs will also be moving there. For any information on the new residence halls, visit www.res.kent.edu.

Contact room and board reporter Bethy DeLong at [email protected].