Housing causes controversy

Many students are left frustrated with their housing situations for next year.

As the end of the school year approaches that means it is time for housing selection. Some students are left on waiting lists and placed in non-preferred housing for the 2022-23 school year. Sam Wareham, SJU sophomore, created a petition to address upperclassmen housing issues. The petition points to a lack of transparency between the institutions and students regarding what housing options will be available.

“A lack of off-campus housing approval combined with a lack of adequate apartment arrangements has created an absolute mess that needs to be resolved,” the petition said.

CSB Dean of Students Jody Terhaar said the number of students let off campus this year is not available, but claimed it is a similar number of both Bennies and Johnnies let off.

“We really try to listen to what our students think when it comes to housing. Based on student feedback, we have tried to make the eligibility for off campus housing as transparent as possible,” Terhaar said.

CSB and SJU both have a four year on-campus residency requirement. The purpose of this is so that students can live within the Benedictine values CSB/SJU promotes.

“When I toured here, they made housing seem comparable to other schools, but seniors are not even guaranteed their own rooms. For a school that holds their students to high standards, it’s disappointing that they do not hold themselves to the same standards,” CSB sophomore and RA Maddy Yeager said.

Students select housing through a class-based cohort. This cohort is computer generated.

The students with the lower numbers in this lottery process select housing for the following year first. There are over 1,000 students on each campus who participate in selecting a room during housing selection, according to Terhaar.

Until this year, the GPA requirement for CSB students to live off campus was 2.7 and 2.5 for SJU students.

Now, the GPA requirement for Bennies is 2.5.

“The grade point average 2.5 along with other requirements are now equal between CSB and SJU which I think many students have appreciated,” associate director of CSB residential life Attina Notch said.

Many rising juniors and seniors have expressed frustration with their campus housing situation.

“I felt as though the selection process was unfair, as some senior students are living in what is normally junior housing, and some juniors are stuck living in dorms for their third year,” CSB sophomore Jillian Neudahl said.

Multiple rising juniors will be living in dorms for the third year straight.

While the purpose of on-campus housing at CSB/SJU is to promote engagement and community, many students feel that it creates lack of development in important skills such as cooking for oneself and increasing independence.

“Off campus housing is cheaper and provides a different experience than on-campus living is. Living off campus makes you learn to cook more for yourself since you have utilities to do so and gives one a different sense of independence,” SJU junior Kyle Kohl said.