Early last week, many students in the class of 2009 were surprised to receive an e-mail from the Office of Residential Life stating that "current projections reveal that the number of students who have a guarantee of housing next year will prevent us from making an offer for housing to you at this time." Every student who was given this message does not have a housing guarantee for next year; among the group are students who have transferred or have lost their housing privileges.
Matt Grover, a transfer student and A&S '09, speaking of his fellow transfer students said, "We're not angry, we don't have a right to be. [Residential Life] never guaranteed us housing; there just was never a problem in the past." Grover said he is "really frustrated" with the situation and said, "now we are really thrown for a loop."
Henry Humphreys, Director of the Office of Residential Life, said, "This is not some callous administrative move. We understand how difficult this is for the seniors affected." Humphreys said that Residential Life maintains its commitment to accommodate seniors on-campus that do not have a guarantee. Nonetheless, the University must first honor its commitment to students that are given housing guarantees.
Humphreys said that Boston College has run into this predicament in the past. In fact, a similar letter was issued to students last year because there was a good chance that Residential Life would not have been able to provide housing to all seniors. The problem, Humphreys said, stems back to a decision made three years ago.
Residential Life awards four years of on-campus housing to applicants in the top 15 percent of their admitted class. Because the number of admitted students continues to swell, the number of students that fall into that percentage are much greater than ever in the past. This trend became especially prevalent over the past three years. This caused a waterfall effect and led to an insufficient amount of on-campus housing for the growing student population. Humphreys said, "This is an issue we will always have to deal with," Humphreys said.
One member of the class of 2009 who transferred her sophomore year spoke of the difficulty transfer students encounter when trying to integrate into the BC community. "If you live off-campus as a senior, you live with all other transfer students," she said. She said that this new decision makes transfer students feel as if they are even less a part of the community.
Grover agreed with this idea and said, "This is a step backwards for us."
In the meantime, the students who were notified that they may not receive housing next year must strategize their next move. One student said, "It doesn't just affect us but the kids we were going to live with." Students without a guarantee must figure out whether to renew or sign a lease, or to stick with their groups to be entered into the housing selection lottery. If Residential Life finalizes the housing decision and certain students cannot live oncampus, many housing groups must quickly find replacements.
Grover suggests for upcoming years that there will be extensive dialogue between the Office of Undergraduate Admission and the Office of Residential Life to ensure that BC can house all of its admitted students. "As BC is thinking through its 10 year plan, it should try to accommodate more future students," Grover said. He said that may prevent the housing issue from surfacing abruptly again.
In addition, Residential Life is continuing to devise solutions that can be implemented in the future. Included in the Master Plan is the goal to increase the on-campus housing capacity and to explore other options to offer students.
Grover and other involved students continue to wonder whether the denial of housing is a final decision. Humphreys explained that the decision is pending while students continue to submit their intent to live oncampus through this week. Once those specific numbers come in, Residential Life will know whether there will be more available space than originally projected. If more space on-campus does arise, there will be a subsequent lottery for students without a guarantee to determine who will fill those slots next year.
Humphreys said about the students who were not given housing guarantees, "We are not just forgetting about them. We are constantly looking into what other alternatives can be established." He said he is also aware of the concerns broached specifically by the students who have transferred to BC. If BC cannot accommodate these students next year, Humphreys says the next question the University must ask of itself is, "What do we do to keep the integrity of the senior class?"
Meanwhile, many students remain in limbo awaiting the final verdict. The housing process is currently underway, and the official formation of groups and the housing lottery begins at the end of February. "We are still hoping a solution will be found," Grover said.
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