APARTMENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY ARE MEETING STUDENT DEMAND

From her second-story apartment, Sharon Wickerham has a view of the Mississippi River here.

She and her daughters Tami, 13, and Bridget, 11 moved in in August 1991, and have occupied the same apartment ever since. "I love it because I can see the river," Wickerham said.

A satisfied tenant, Wickerham is one of a number of non-traditional students at Southeast Missouri State University who live in university-owned apartment buildings on Washington Street.

The brick buildings, situated at 401 and 505 Washington, were purchased in December 1990 through the Southeast Missouri University Foundation at a cost of $150,000.

They were then renovated and opened to students in the summer of 1991. Wickerham and her daughters have lived in the apartment building at 505 Washington since the university began operating the facility.

"We give priority to students with children," said Gayle Hendrix, who as assistant director of residence life at Southeast supervises the apartment buildings.

Second priority is given to married students without children. Ranking third on the priority list are students over the age of 25.

Hendrix said there's currently a waiting list for students wanting to live in the apartments.

There are a total of seven two-bedroom apartments in the building at 401 Washington. The building at 505 Washington has seven two-bedroom and four one-bedroom units.

Wickerham said her apartment is within walking distance of the university campus.

"I loved the idea for the kids of having this nice, open field across the street," she said. The field is a wide-open expanse of grass known as Washington Park.

Wickerham's glad the university operates such housing. She recalled that the apartments had just been renovated when she and her daughters moved in. "I felt like I had walked into heaven."

She and the other tenants pay rent monthly. Wickerham said the rent is reasonable.

The monthly rent, however, is being raised by $10-$25 this fall. The cost of a two-bedroom unit will range from $270 to $295. One-bedroom units will rent for $220 a month.

Apartment tenants can take advantage of a shuttle bus, which provides transportation to and from the campus at night.

Wickerham graduated from Southeast in May with a bachelor of arts degree in theater and a bachelor of science degree in education. She and her children will have to move out by the end of August unless she enrolls in graduate school at Southeast. Only university students are allowed to rent the apartments, Hendrix said.

Wickerham has a long-distance relationship with her husband, Dan, who works for AT&T. He and the couple's 20-year-old son, Erik, live at the family home in Hematite, a small town nine miles east of Hillsboro in Jefferson County.

"We are a very unusual family," conceded Wickerham. Her husband is also attending school. He's obtaining a psychology degree from Maryville University in the St. Louis area.

Wickerham grew up in the St. Louis area. She attended college right out of high school but didn't stick with it. "It wasn't my priority at the time," she explained.

But she decided to go back to school in summer 1988, enrolling at Jefferson College in Hillsboro. "I got into a mid-life career jam. I was tired of being a secretary," she said.

She transferred to Southeast and began taking classes here in August 1990. The university didn't have the apartments then. She lived in the Greek Housing complex on campus in living quarters reserved at that time for non-traditional students.

"If you look at our student population here, you know there are a lot of people who are classified as non-traditional students," said Paul Carr, director of residence life at Southeast.

"The apartments certainly represent an alternative housing space that better accommodates the needs of those students," he said.

The apartments are kept up by the university's own maintenance department, which is something that appeals to some students, said Carr. "It helps us keep them in good condition," he said.

"Really, what the university is trying to do is provide as many options as are feasible to meet the demands of the students."

Southeast's experience in operating the apartments has been good, said Carr. "I'd say it is very, very successful. We have them full pretty much year-round."