Last week, this Editorial Board recognized the influx of new people that will be moving to our area in the next month, as the fall semester at the University of Illinois is set to begin classes on August 26th. We addressed some of the quirks of living in C-U — both positive and negative. For those who are coming to the community to be students, perhaps an additional “quirk” to address is the housing situation on and near campus. Spoiler alert: It’s not great.
Currently, there is not enough space in university housing to accommodate all of the students who would like to live on campus, and the U of I is offering returning students $2,000 as well as 100 meal tickets if they choose to live elsewhere. According to reporting from Illinois Public Media, there are a variety of factors that led to this, including FAFSA delays, a larger number of out-of-state students choosing to enroll, and generally just more students than predicted choosing Illinois. While this may be the first time in recent years that this sort of incentive has been offered, it’s not the first time there has been a lack of space for incoming students. There were students living in lounges converted to living spaces last year, and the year before. This year, some Resident Advisors (RAs) will be required to have incoming freshmen as their roommates. It’s also not a problem that is unique to the U of I. Campuses across the US are facing an overwhelming amount of students needing housing that doesn’t exist.
The incentive is nice, but is it enough? And are there even enough apartments available? According to The News-Gazette, the answer to the latter is no. The two landlords quoted in the article indicate that there are very few options left for apartments on or near campus. The article reminds us of the fact that students begin clamoring for apartments as early as the September before the following academic year.
One “solution” mentioned in the article is the availability of single rooms where students can move in with three already established roommates. While it’s certainly better than being without a place to live, it’s not ideal for all, especially if you’ve already made plans to live with a particular roommate. More broadly, it’s a lot of stress to put on students who are about to make their way to campus with their housing situations uncertain.
To those of us in the greater community, it’s sort of baffling to think that there’s a lack of places for students to live, particularly with the way giant apartment buildings seem to pop up overnight on campus. This magazine has been talking about fugly grey buildings since 2016. Recently in this update about some vacant spaces in C-U, The News-Gazette reported that for Dallas and Company and adjacent spaces in Midtown, the property broker “is looking for a buyer who’d be interested in redeveloping the whole block and are targeting student housing developers who might be interested in building ‘mid-rise, mixed-use student apartments.’” Our first reaction was “really? More apartments?” It seems that will be the fate of the corner of First and Green as well, where Maize was recently demolished. In light of the recent space shortage this seems good at face value. But this is where affordability becomes an issue for both students and townies.
A quick glance at some of the campus apartments currently available on Apartments.com shows that there are indeed spaces in some of those big fancy developments we’ve seen appear in the heart of campustown, but the rents are pricey, with many of these places asking $1,100+ per person per month. And rents on the rise is not just a campus problem, it’s a community-wide problem, as Grant Chassy pointed out in an op-ed last year, which certainly affects grad students as well, who might be seeking places to live throughout C-U.
Uncertainty about housing can have a negative impact on students, as this article from Liberal Education states:
For many students, the lack of affordable housing is life altering. Some have rethought their college plans, opting for a community college or for working a job instead of going to college at all. Others have been forced to enroll part time, live farther from campus (sometimes without reliable transportation), and work longer hours, a US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) report notes.
And, low-income students, including international students from countries where the currency exchange rate is not in their favor, and those from historically marginalized communities, are more vulnerable:
While students of all income levels are grappling with a housing supply crunch, low-income students are the most likely to face housing insecurity or homelessness. The challenges are particularly acute for students emerging from foster care, HUD states. Students of color are more likely to endure housing insecurity than White students, the Hope survey found, and LGBTQ+ students also face higher risks.
This opinion piece from Higher Ed Drive points out steps that colleges can take to address this, from using university-owned, underutilized land to build affordable housing, to working with local housing agencies to provide students with vouchers. With repeated years of insufficient university housing space, and clearly rising rental rates in the community, maybe it’s time for the U of I to begin exploring some creative solutions.
The Editorial Board is Jessica Hammie, Julie McClure, Patrick Singer, and Mara Thacker.