Going home
SIUE makes transition from commuter to residential campus
Allan Lewis
Issue date: 10/12/07 Section: 50th Anniversary Special Edition
Imagine being a student at SIUE in the first few years of the university.
Most students at that time lived at home with their families or found apartments near campus. Commuting was the only option, as residence halls were still off in the distant future.
In November 1970, the first on-campus living became available under the identity of Tower Lake Apartments. The new complex was named for nearby Tower Lake, named after the campus water tower.
According to Housing Director Michael Schultz, an energy crisis led to the first on-campus housing.
"The idea for (Tower Lake) was to allow students to stay on campus rather than commute as gas prices rose from around 30 to 70 cents per gallon."
According to University Archivist Steve Kerber, the reasoning behind Tower Lake was "to assist students, especially married students, in being able to attend the University and obtain a college degree."
The first phase of Tower Lake opened what is now the 400 side of Cougar Village. Tower Lake Apartments II, or the 500 side, as it is known today, was dedicated in late 1975.
In 1997, a shooting took place at Tower Lake involving two victims and a suspect, all of whom were non-students, following an altercation at a party in a student's apartment.
Later that year, Tower Lake and the apartment complex got new names in what Kerber called a "reinforcement of the Cougar Identity." Today they are known as Cougar Lake and Cougar Village.
Cougar Village currently houses more than 1,400 single students, as well as approximately 120 families.
The idea to transform SIUE into a residential campus community came in the late 1980s. A plan to build a 500-bed residence hall was developed and later approved in November 1992.
"Students chose not to attend this university because we didn't have traditional housing," Schultz said. "The reason we built the residence halls was because we didn't think the apartment setting was appropriate for freshman students, and it was what students wanted to do."
Most students at that time lived at home with their families or found apartments near campus. Commuting was the only option, as residence halls were still off in the distant future.
In November 1970, the first on-campus living became available under the identity of Tower Lake Apartments. The new complex was named for nearby Tower Lake, named after the campus water tower.
According to Housing Director Michael Schultz, an energy crisis led to the first on-campus housing.
"The idea for (Tower Lake) was to allow students to stay on campus rather than commute as gas prices rose from around 30 to 70 cents per gallon."
According to University Archivist Steve Kerber, the reasoning behind Tower Lake was "to assist students, especially married students, in being able to attend the University and obtain a college degree."
The first phase of Tower Lake opened what is now the 400 side of Cougar Village. Tower Lake Apartments II, or the 500 side, as it is known today, was dedicated in late 1975.
In 1997, a shooting took place at Tower Lake involving two victims and a suspect, all of whom were non-students, following an altercation at a party in a student's apartment.
Later that year, Tower Lake and the apartment complex got new names in what Kerber called a "reinforcement of the Cougar Identity." Today they are known as Cougar Lake and Cougar Village.
Cougar Village currently houses more than 1,400 single students, as well as approximately 120 families.
The idea to transform SIUE into a residential campus community came in the late 1980s. A plan to build a 500-bed residence hall was developed and later approved in November 1992.
"Students chose not to attend this university because we didn't have traditional housing," Schultz said. "The reason we built the residence halls was because we didn't think the apartment setting was appropriate for freshman students, and it was what students wanted to do."
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