Chilly winds couldn’t drive away the mass of over 200-plus hopeful freshmen who lined up outside the office of the newly-constructed apartments of Seahawk Village on Wednesday Feb. 1.

Huddled in groups, the students waited for their chance to reserve a room in the university’s newest residence buildings for the 2006 school year. The apartments, six buildings in all, are located directly behind Wagoner Dining Hall and offer 524 bedrooms for students, roughly 12 to 14 of which are first assigned to residential coordinators, graduate assistants and resident assistants, said Assistant Director of Resident Life Larry Wray.

Brad Reid, the director of housing and resident life walked down the line, informing the freshmen of the 24 four-bedroom apartments and seven three-bedroom apartments that were still available in Seahawk Village. “The idea is to fill every bedroom today,” he said.

Students wishing to live on campus for the 2006 school year needed to comply with a housing contract and pay an up-front payment of $100. The 31 remaining rooms not taken by upperclassmen were then offered to current freshmen.

“Freshmen were camping out in tents by four [p.m.] on Monday even though they couldn’t actually sign up until two days later,” Reid said.

“We were concerned with the students’ safety,” Wray said. “We didn’t want to have them out here overnight, through the rain and the cold.”

Understanding their dedication to reserve their spot, the members of the Residential Life Department started a priority list to offer placeholders for the freshmen so they could return on Wednesday at 1:00 pm for sign-ups.

For those students who were not able to reserve a Seahawk Village apartment for the fall 2006 semester, there are two options: the university can keep their housing contract and $100 up-front payment and have the student be placed at the top of a prioritized waiting list for the on-campus apartments or suites, or students be placed on a different waiting list for the 2007 school year, granting them first pick at an apartment in the Seahawk Village’s second phase.

The second phase, consisting of an additional seven buildings, will add 609 new bedrooms. Construction is expected to begin for the second phase behind Cornerstone Hall in late April. They are projected to be ready by the 2007 fall semester.

While finances are somewhat of a concern with the second phase, “everything is basically on schedule,” Reid said. “We’re just waiting for the last approvals before we start construction.”

“Everyone is really eager to get into these new apartments,” said Michelle Rodems, residence coordinator. Rodems, who manages the Cornerstone Hall and Honors and International Houses, was there to help organize the registrations. University police Lieutenant M. T. Cook and Sergeant T. R. Curry also stood by to help organize the registration.

Move-in for the Seahawk Village apartments will begin Aug. 1, 2006.