It looks like Drexel isn’t the only school that has housed students in lounges; Texas Tech, Indiana University and University of Arizona all have a history of temporarily housing overflow students in dorm lounges.

Overflow housing and placing students temporarily in lounges dates back to 2001 and 2002 at Texas Tech.  In 2002 they changed their housing policy to allow freshmen to live off campus, according to dailytoreador.com.

Drexel has not announced any changes in their housing policy.

“As a result of the housing woes, Housing and Hospitality Services are allowing new students to live off campus, which is a first for Tech,” Michael Shonrock, vice president of student affairs, told the dailytoreador.com.

In 2007 the dailytoreador.com reported that in late July and August temporary preparations were being made for temporary housing.

According to The Paper Trail blog from USA Today, Indiana University has housed freshmen students in lounges in 2006 and 2001 but was able to find regular dorm rooms for them within a month.

University of Arizona is also housing students in lounges. “One girl came in and said, ‘Hey, you took our study lounge,’ and we know that she was just kidding, but it does suck to know that we don’t have our own space,” said Kathryn Whiley in an article in The Wildcat Online.

Problems Whiley note about living in lounges include no closet space while living with three people, Whiley told The Daily Wildcat.

However, other schools including Seton Hill University will house upperclassmen students in a hotel due to a record number of freshmen accepting admission, Molly Robb Shimko, university spokeswoman, told the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.

According to a Triangle article from 2005, Drexel has previously housed students in lounge space and a hotel.