During an AS Senate meeting this week, originally scheduled to address the Department of Homeland Security’s presence on campus, much of the discussion shifted toward long–standing student concerns about housing availability, the removal of singles in East Campus and ongoing miscommunication between Student Housing and Residential Life (SHRL), the Student Disability and Accessibility Center (SDAC) and university administration.
AS Vice President of Internal Affairs Jasmine Torres clarified that single room housing in East Campus will be phased out.
“Where it is right now, all singles other than family units will be turned into doubles in East Campus,” she said, adding that, “with all that, there will be no singles on East Campus.”
Torres also emphasized that while students may receive approved accommodations, those accommodations do not guarantee a single room.
“The only way you can get a single on campus period is through an accommodation,” she said, “but just because you have an accommodation does not guarantee you a single.”
Students attending the meeting voiced frustration over the lack of representation and transparency in housing decisions.
“I come in with units, so I’m in classes with students who have been here for multiple semesters on end,” one student noted, “and housing has always been a concern, and I know that this kinda just adds more fuel to the fire. It just seems more concerning.”
“It kind of feels like, where do the students get representation in it?”
Another student noted that housing issues have persisted for years, pointing to increased enrollment without a proportional expansion of housing options.
AS Vice President of Financial Affairs Andrew Nino described recent housing efforts as insufficient for the scale of the problem. “Gavilan Hall is a short-term solution to a long-term problem right now,” Nino said. While the project is expected to add approximately 180 beds, he acknowledged that, “the problem is substantially more than 180 beds.”
AS President Natalie Navarro added that attempts to formalize student involvement in housing decisions have stalled. Referring to a proposed housing committee, Navarro said Director of Housing Crystal Lay responded with “‘not right now.’”
Navarro said Lay expressed a preference for moving concerns through other channels. “I think her main thing was that she doesn’t want to get yelled at,” Navarro said. “She doesn’t want it to be a committee where students come and share their experiences, I think it might be something more written.”
When asked about the miscommunication between housing and SDAC, and what students can do when accommodations are not met Torres said that there definitely is an issue there.
“I have that barrier, where I followed up around family housing and the moving and what it means to be in a disabled unit that has accommodations. It’s a very prevalent issue.”
Torres described the situation as a “ping-pong” effect between SDAC, SHRL and Greystar, noting that students with approved accommodations often face barriers in implementation.
“I think it’s hard for students to understand sometimes that getting accommodations does not mean the implementation of accommodations which does create this barrier of my doctor telling me I need this and the school is not providing this.”
Torres added that East Campus presents a unique situation for students as housing there is operated externally. “When you are a student in East Campus you are in a unique situation that puts you in student housing under a corporation, which is Greystar.”