About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 2018)
LOCAL The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Sunday, November 18, 2018 5A Photos by AUSTIN STEELE I The Times Left: Jay Long, left, a freshman with a major in Spanish with a business emphasis, sits at a table with Diana Vele, a junior political science major, in the Multicultural Student Affairs resource center at the University of North Georgia Gainesville campus on Friday, Nov. 16. Below: Libia Jimenez, coordinator of Multicultural Student Affairs, stands outside the University of North Georgia Gainesville campus. HISPANIC ■ Continued from 1A With a record 19,722 students at five campuses, UNG’s enrollment increased 5 percent for the 2018 fall semester, adding more than 2,000 students since the pre vious spring. With 8,160 students, the Gainesville campus had the highest enrollment of all campuses. Hispanics make up 22 percent of the Gainesville student body, with 1,793 enrolled, up from 671 just five years ago. And this student demo graphic accounts for 13.3 per cent of enrollment univer sitywide, with 2,629 enroll- ees, a 2 percent increase from the fall of 2016. By comparison among other minorities, the num ber of Asian students increased from 661 to 672 and the number of black stu dents increased from 828 to 842. Enrollment in the Uni versity System of Georgia’s 26 colleges and universi ties, which includes UNG, totals 328,712 students, and the average Hispanic enroll ment across the system is 9.1 percent. The trend lines are clear. “That’s information all universities and colleges are looking at,” Paul said. But preparing to meet the demands the Hispanic popu lation presents is an ongoing challenge. “Although sometimes I’d like to be doing more for that, I’m proud of the things we are doing to prepare for it,” Paul added. The UNG Gainesville campus provides many different services to both recruit and retain Hispanic students, such as the Latino Student Association, one of the most active on campus. For commuter schools like UNG’s Gainesville cam pus, participation in student groups and activities is rare, said Libia Jimenez, coor dinator of Multicultural Student Affairs and Latino Success. Other programs that sup port Hispanics include the College Assistance Migrant Program, a first-year schol arship for students from migrant-working households that provides academic, social and financial support. The Multicultural Student Affairs office also works to advise student groups and support their endeavors. “When you’re evaluating your college, what’s won derful about this office is that it houses many cultural groups,” Jimenez said. Jimenez said bringing UNG’s diverse student body together is critical, for example, because “issues that affect me as a Latino woman also affect my col leagues and these students. ” A focus on meeting the needs of Hispanic students has been a focus of the MSA office, Jimenez said, and that includes a new Spanish- language orientation for stu dents and their families. Reaching out to address cultural barriers and access to education, particularly within immigrant communi ties, is one way the university stays connected to the 42 per cent of Hispanics that make up the city of Gainesville and 28 percent of the Hall County population — not to mention the nearly 200,000 Hispan ics residing in neighboring Gwinnett County. “Family is critical and important to them,” Paul said. “They may or may not have been involved in their (child’s) education” previ ously because of language barriers. And as enrollment increases, Jimenez said she expects to see more support services and outreach pro vided to Hispanic students through the admissions office, the availability of bilingual staff and broader orientation sessions with families. “The need is there for the majority of our students to have these services avail able in their native lan guage, particularly for the parents,” she added. SCOn ROGERS I The Times A development featuring three-bedroom cottages with rents of $1,650- $1,800 per month approved by the Oakwood City Council has begun on 2.3 acres at 2988 Frontage Road, near the Thurmon Tanner Parkway entrance to the University of North Georgia. HOUSING ■ Continued from 1A 2018. That’s a nearly 28 percent increase since 6,391 in fall 2013. Richard Oates, vice president of the Gainesville campus, expects that number to climb, possibly hit ting 10,000 students by 2025. “We’re looking at a healthy growth of 31/2,4 percent... over the next six to seven years,” he said. The growth is “a combination of several things,” Oates said. “It’s natural growth of this region, with the increase in high school gradua tions in this area.” New, trendy academic pro grams also are a draw, he said. And developers are taking notice. Oakwood has seen a steady stream of rezoning applications in 2018, with many applicants citing UNG’s growth. Bill Stark Properties was one of those. Stark’s development will fea ture three-bedroom cottages with rents of $1,650-$1,800 per month — or potentially up to $600 per roommate. “There’s really a sore spot here for not having housing for Uni versity of North Georgia,” said Gainesville lawyer Steve Gilliam, representing Stark in a Sept. 10 meeting. Stark said last week he hopes to have the complex open by August 2019, in time for the fall semester. A 348-unit apartment complex off Mundy Mill Road got the Oak- wood City Council’s first approval Monday, Nov. 12. “This property is designed spe cifically to take advantage of the growth of the University of North Georgia (campus in Oakwood),” said Kurt Alexander, principal with The Residential Group. The units would vary between one and three bedrooms and be spread out among nine buildings. Also, the complex would feature a swimming pool, an amenity area and a small commercial area fac ing Mundy Mill Road. Alexander said after the vote that if all goes well with the proj ect, construction could begin in the summer of 2019, with the first apartments opening in the fall of 2020. The entire complex could be finished by the spring of 2021. He didn’t cite specific rents dur ing his presentation. Other projects, including town- homes, have also been linked to the student growth at UNG. Students don’t typically buy homes, but their parents might, Brown said. “If you go into some other uni versity communities, you will see people will purchase houses for their kids to live in, then it becomes investment property after they get out of college,” he said. “It’s not that uncommon.” Brown also sees the student growth at UNG affecting area retail. The area already boasts a num ber of fast-food restaurants and coffee places, as well as a college textbooks store, Dorks. The trend could intensify as stu dents settle in as residents. “I think you’ll see the Mundy Mill Road corridor go through some redevelopment leaning more toward a student market,” he said. Oakwood’s growth isn’t just stu dent-related, said Frank Norton Jr., president of Gainesville-based The Norton Agency and real estate market watcher. Some of it’s related to South Hall’s growing business and indus trial base, he said. 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