SPU, where classes started yesterday, boasts the newest of the next generation of dormitories, big enough to accommodate 340 students.

Faculty, staff and students all had a say in what they wanted to see in a new hall, and some features of Emerson reflect their input. The hall cost $14.4 million.

"If you're going to spend as much money as it takes to build a new (residence hall), you're going to want to make it something students are attracted to," said Kimberlee Campbell, director of residence life at SPU.

Doors to small lounges, surrounded by six dorm rooms each, are held open by magnets that release only in case of fire. The reason is to prevent students from isolating -- a concern expressed by staffers and by students, who wanted to retain the friendliness of the old-style dorms.

A lot of activities and traditions at SPU center around the residence halls, so students wanted a main lounge big enough to accommodate hall meetings. In a reflection of SPU's Christian mission, students also wanted a place to pray, and the new hall features a prayer chapel.

The fortunate students who got a room on one of Emerson's five floors were wowed by the results. Priority was given to returning students who lived last year in Marston/Watson Hall, which closed. Freshmen were selected based on when they got their housing application in.

"It's just so festive to walk in," said Jane Radel of Kalispell, Mont., whose son Jason is a freshman this year. "It looks like a bank building!"

Like other students who asked to live in Emerson, the relatively high cost was not an issue. A double room in Emerson costs $4,125 per academic year, compared with $3,255 per year in one of the older dorms.

"I'll pay the extra; it's totally worth it," Jason Radel said. "You're going to be living here. You might as well enjoy it."

The University of Puget Sound and Seattle University are both trying to increase the percentage of students who live on campus, and residence halls that offer more options to juniors, seniors and graduate students are part of the strategy.

UPS, which currently has about 55 percent of students living on campus, is trying to push that number up to 75 percent. Trimble Hall, which will get the university about halfway to that goal when it opens next year, will cater to upper classmen.

"As we talked to students, there's a real desire to have greater privacy in residence halls these days, and so having single rooms instead of doubles, triples and quads was very important," UPS Dean of Students Kris Bartanen said.

The new hall also was intentionally sited in the middle of campus and is designed to help blur the lines between the classroom and student living quarters. Trimble Hall will include more space for informal study groups, and plans call for holding at least one class in the hall.

WSU's newly renovated Honors Hall, with room for 118, serves the goal of attracting more top students.

The ground floor houses Honors College offices, classrooms, a reception room and the library.

The combination of modern suites of rooms in close proximity to the honors program has become a draw on prospective student tours.

The fancier dormitories are putting pressure on colleges to upgrade the old. But Cunard, of the National Association of College Auxiliary Services, is unsure whether the trend will continue.

"I think the issues are probably less critical today than perhaps they were five years ago, because we have such an influx of new students coming in," he said.

Colleges could feel less pressure to compete when they don't have to work so hard to fill seats, he said.

Then again, these students have already seen the bright lights of Emerson. It may not be so easy to go back.

P-I reporter Ruth Schubert can be reached at 206-448-8130 or ruthschubert@seattlepi.com

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