The Mount Michael dorms have been a staple in the school for decades. Recently, there have been many renovations and changes to the Mount Michael dormitories. As boarding student numbers decreased, the school was forced to modernize and adapt the boarding experience to attract potential new students to the program.  

One of the minor changes is that there has been relocation of the upper classmen and sophomores. The seniors jumped down to the old sophomore dorms in the two-man rooms with their dean, Robert Baxley. Also, the juniors got bumped up to the top floor which used to be the senior dorms. Before this school year, the juniors would typically occupy the middle of the third floor in the four-man rooms. John Farrell, a current junior, states, “I feel like the juniors got ripped off. I was really hoping to experience the four-man dorms with all my friends.” Next, the sophomores will be staying in last year’s junior dorms in the four-man rooms. There are also a few sophomores who are sharing the new junior floor with the juniors. The most affected class was the freshmen.  

The biggest changes occurred among the freshmen residences. They said goodbye to the old barrack style dorm room and have now taken over the other half of the hallway next to the sophomores. These rooms used to house four beds, but they now have six, in addition to six lockers. The desks that used to be in these rooms were stored away, and the freshmen still use the old barrack room as their new study room.  

At first there were mixed opinions about this change, especially with the proximity to the upperclassmen, but it seems to have worked out very well thus far. “My favorite part of the dorms so far is the community that we build with our classmates and the upperclassmen. Going to school I think is only half of what I think Mount Michael has to offer and I think if you don’t board you are really missing out,” five-day boarder Augustine Vogel said. 

Another big addition was the new freshmen dean, Mr. Nathaniel Rees. This is a significant change since the last dean, Mr. Tim Struckman, led the freshmen for ten years. Adapting well, “It has been just as much learning for me as it has been for them. The biggest learning points have been sharing expectations and doing so with chores and demerits. Also, learning the handbook particulars and all the little details,” Rees said. All these changes will help the school attract new students and get as many people as possible to experience the boarding program. The adjacency of the upperclassmen and underclassmen has the possibility to lead to better interclass relations especially with the introduction of the brand-new rec room. Although these changes have been controversial, it will help the school and boarding program to grow in the years to come.