Housing selection took place last week for Syracuse University students. While housing selection is known to cause stress, SU’s process created angst among many freshmen. Conversations of dissatisfaction and frustration were common on campus, as students became aggravated by the lack of available room types and dorms.

SU’s housing policy requires all first- and second-year students, including transfers, to live in university housing unless they obtain an individual exemption.

The problem with this regulation results from a lack of on-campus housing availability. The selection process started on the morning of Monday, March 28 and ended Friday, April 1. By Tuesday, all quads and triples were taken by noon, and by late afternoon, all of Main Campus was filled.

The selection times were randomly generated, and an excessive number of students were left with no other option besides South Campus. While some students enjoy living on South Campus, the distance from the main campus creates adversity for many students.

Freshman Emma Johnson had a selection time on Wednesday and was dissatisfied with her result of living on South Campus. “It’s definitely been really hard for my roommate and me, especially since we are so involved on campus. It impairs my ability to fully immerse myself in campus and is even harder since I don’t have a car,” Johnson said.

Most classes, study spaces, campus organizations and the Marshall Street stores and restaurants are on or near Main Campus. Although there are trolleys and buses between the two, being so remote to these critical parts of campus significantly impairs the SU experience.

“This is definitely an issue that needs to be fixed within the housing system at Syracuse University and not something that students should have to worry about,” Johnson said.

If a campus mandates on-campus sophomore living, then it should have the capacity to house students in accessible locations. If the university cannot accommodate students, then off-campus housing should be an option.

In fact, many colleges, such as the University of Texas at Austin, New York University and Purdue University, allow sophomores to live off campus. “In many cases, becoming a college sophomore means more housing options are available to students,” an Accredited Schools Online article reads. But at SU, sophomore housing may entail even more uncertainty than freshman year.

Sahana Manipala, a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, shared her sophomore housing experience. “Next year, I am living in an off-campus apartment with my friends. At Madison, sophomores can live in off-campus apartments, on-campus dorms or Greek houses. Basically, everyone ends up satisfied because they can live where they want and with whoever they want.”

UW-Madison, which has a larger student body than SU, does not require its students to live on campus, instead giving them a choice between residence halls, apartment communities or off-campus housing. The SU freshman on-campus housing requirement is beneficial, as it can create an easier transition and connection to campus. By sophomore year, however, students should have the ability to choose to live off campus.

Due to their housing circumstances, many SU students are left frustrated and anxious about the upcoming year. Although college entails daily challenges, a living situation should not be one of them. SU needs to change its sophomore housing policy if it cannot accommodate student satisfaction.

Hannah Karlin is a freshman English major. Her column appears biweekly. She can be reached at hekarlin@syr.edu.

Published on April 4, 2022 at 10:31 pm