University Housing: How Residence Halls Changed Student Life at Cal Poly

In 2014, Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong submitted a “Letter to the Editor” in The Mustang News in which he described his vision for the future of Cal Poly housing. “As we contemplate our long-term vision for Cal Poly, we are shifting our culture to become a predominantly residential campus. In the foreseeable future, Cal Poly will house more than half — perhaps as many as two-thirds — of its students in university housing.”1 Armstrong continued, claiming that this move of opening up around 1,400 new spaces for freshman living on-campus was “good for students,” and that he hoped these living arrangements would foster more engaged students, better academic and behavior performance, as well as a “positive change for the residents of San Luis Obispo.”2 1 Jeffrey Armstrong, “Letters to the Editor,” Mustang News, April 28, 2014, accessed January 30, 2016, http://mustangnews.net/grand-avenue-housing-project-is-next-important-step/. 2 Armstrong, “Letters to the Editor.