Housing Debacle: Who’s to blame

Roommates Kasey Biagas and Tyra Price expected the fall semester to be similar to the other school semesters. Check into their dorms, move in, pay fees and begin classes. 
“Tyra and I have been roommates living in Shade Hall for two years,” Biagas, a junior mass communications major from New Orleans started, “Trya had gotten a letter from Housing saying the room was reserved.”
But when the girls arrived on campus August 12, they were told by the dorm mother — who Price said was not the usual person in the office, Head Resident Barbara Campbell, but someone they did not know—that all the rooms in Shade were filled and to try either S.V. Totty or Washington Hall.
“I am an out-of-state student. I drove from Houston with all of my stuff in my car,” said junior English major Price. “They never asked if we were out-of-town students, if we had a place to stay or anything.”
 Marilyn Hill, director of residential housing replied to questions e-mailed by the Southern DIGEST on the question of housing.
“The arrival date for students checking in to the residence hall with confirmation was scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008. Room of students who did not arrive on the scheduled reporting date were cancelled and reassign to students on Monday, Aug. 11, 2008. This was the case for many upperclassmen who reported as late as the following weekend (Aug. 16). Also, it was noted that many returning upperclassmen did not apply for housing for the 2008 fall semester.”
For the next two nights, Price and Biagas stayed at a friend’s apartment in the Palisades while they waited over seven hours in the F.G. Clark Activity Center to find answers about their housing and financial aid.
According to Biagas, no one at the residential housing table had any direct answers or solutions for their problems.
“When we got there the next morning (Aug. 13), they told us we should have gone back to Shade because they had a few openings, but now they are filled. We didn’t know where to go because no one told us anything. We were just told there wasn’t any room for us.”
Hill refutes these claims.
“Students who reported to the office of Residential Housing were given the option to males reside in Boley Hall or University Apartment, female students were given the option to be assign to University Apartment as spaces permit or reside with friends in the residence hall until spaces were available. All efforts were utilized to assign students wherever spaces were available.”
Over-crowding seemed only to be an issue in the female dorms, said Jerry Jones, who is a Resident Assistant in U.S. Jones Hall.
“We were told in advance that our dorm would be receiving a lot of new people. We were ready for them.” Jones also added the hall provided water while students waited for their room assignments. “At our training session the housing director asked what we needed to better help the students. They listened and a lot of was asked was addressed,” said the senior political science major from Alexandria.
Price said Hill found her a room in the on-campus apartments.
And although she said she doesn’t blame the dorm mothers for the over-crowding, their attitudes could have been better and they could have been more sympathetic to their problems.
“No one seems to be here to help. I still haven’t paid fees because I have to file an appeal,” Biagas said. “We tried to get in touch with the chancellor, but there were so many people we had to talk to before we could get to him.”
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Although Biagas did not initially choose to live in the on-campus apartments, Hill said that she will be charged the additional amount for the apartment.
“The University Apartments are designated for students who wish to reside in an independent living setting. Students select this choice on an individual basis. If a student desires to reside in the apartment, the student must pay the associated cost.”
Price seconded her comments about following up on complaints about Residential Housing.
Currently living at the Palisades, Price said she had to get a deferment on her rent because living off campus was more expensive.
“Now that school has started, I don’t have time to wait in lines at the Minidome all day. You have to stand in one line just to get in another line. So I cancelled my housing and moved off-campus.”
When asked what can students do to avoid the housing problem that has effected so many student this fall, Hill suggested students be early and stay on top of their housing.
“Students are automatically reassigned to their respectively residence halls from the fall semester to the spring semester. Students must ensure that they report for campus housing as scheduled by the University on the reporting date. Housing confirmations are reserved for a 24-hour period unless written notification is submitted to the office for late arrival. Students are asked to adhere to all published application deadlines and reporting dates.”
Price wants to return on-campus in the spring because she likes having her housing included on her billing statement.
“I don’t blame any one person for this. I don’t know whom to blame. Is it admissions for admitting so many students this semester? Is it Housing for booking students when they knew they had a certain number of rooms? I just don’t know.”