It is the end of an era for University of Tennessee sorority students as they say goodbye to their former home, Massey Hall.

UT housing has decided to move sororities to Laurel Hall in order to accommodate the rising number of incoming freshman. The University of Tennessee is expecting it’s largest class, 4200 new freshmen, in August.

Beginning this fall, Massey Hall will be an all-female freshman residence hall. Since most of the sororities are in the process of building houses in the new sorority area off Kingston Pike and Alcoa Highway, Laurel seemed like a good alternative in the short term.

Massey Hall has been home to sorority members for 18 years. Each sorority either had its own floor or split a floor with another sorority. Most sororities required sophomore members to live in Massey Hall along with a few key officers.

“I will definitely miss Massey,” sophomore Kristi Beacham said. “It has years of tradition and sisterhood. I can’t imagine anyone else living in our home. Our time on Massey Hall is what makes us a stronger sorority. I am very upset about the move to Laurel. It will not be the same.”

Massey Hall has been home to sororities since 1990 and approximately 578 sorority members live there now.

“We have so many memories here. This is where I met my future bridesmaids. This is where I laughed and cried and made sisters for life,” sophomore Lindsey Domer said.

Laurel Hall will accommodate 13 sororities with capacity for 671 residents. It has apartment-style housing featuring one or two bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room. Hall Director for Massey, Ginger Smith, said she believes the change will be good.

“I think it is a great fit because it is apartment style housing,” she said. "Sorority women will have more room and they will be more comfortable with their own bathrooms and living rooms. It will also be a good fit because is so close to Panhellenic.”

Laurel Hall is located in the Fort Sanders area, which concerns many sorority members.

“Fort Sanders is a very dangerous place,” Sarah Fitzgerald, a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, said. “I do not think it is a good idea to put a bunch of young women over there. It seems like every other day I receive an email about another robbery in the Fort. I did not feel safe about living there and I have found an apartment off campus.”

Many students say they share these concerns. In response, the university plans to install better lighting and cameras on 16th Street. Laurel will also have a safety officer on duty. In an interview with the Knoxville News Sentinel, Captain Keith Lambert of the UT Police Department said, “We think that if we light it up well, put in extra cameras and security, they will use it.”

Ginger Smith, Massey Hall director, lived in Laurel as a graduate student and she said she felt completely safe.

“The university in general and the housing department has went through great lengths to make sure the women will feel safe.”

The move to Laurel Hall will take place this fall.