Students fantasize about their college dorm long before they even step foot on campus. What color scheme will look best? Do I really need a mini fridge? What will my roommate be like? Should we match? Many university goers spend the summer before school buying trunks, posters and a plethora of other products to make their space their own. Unfortunately for students at several universities across the nation, this opportunity has been taken from them.
Last year, NSU rearranged their housing plans and removed graduate students from the residence halls in order to fit the growing number of undergraduate students. In an article written in The Current, students listed their many frustrations with the displacement, stating distance, money and inconvenience as their major concerns. However, this problem isn’t limited to just NSU.
At Purdue University, some students who signed a housing contract were assigned to temporary housing. According to the university’s website, these new assignments are in converted study rooms, lounges and laundry areas, equipped with “a bed, a desk or table for studying, and a storage space”. In a section titled “What have past students had to say about temporary housing?” the institution claims that students should anticipate the temporary housing to be comfortable, citing quotes made to the student newspaper, The Exponent. On the contrary, in an article published on Aug. 20, 2018, some students appeared to have conflicting opinions. While some reported that they didn’t mind the situation, others compared their rooms to “bunkers,” “prisons” or “halfway houses” on Twitter.
Even closer to home, over 100 Florida Atlantic University students will be residing in a hotel instead of on campus housing this semester, according to University Press. The students are staying at a Fairfield Inn and Suites near the campus for the foreseeable future, however they could be moved at any time. They are receiving either a single or double room, in addition to free breakfast, a mini fridge, microwave, weekly cleaning and will be supervised by resident assistants. The university plans to expand their housing to avoid this issue in the future.
But why are so many universities facing this problem? While it doesn’t appear that there are many studies being conducted on this subject specifically, the National Center for Education Statistics states that there was an increase of approximately 5.1 million students attending college from 2000 to 2017, and universities are struggling to keep up with the influx. While frustrated students might find comfort in the fact that this problem isn’t just occurring on their campus, they can all hope that their institutions will be able to keep up with the growing enrollment in the coming years.
