Some of our concerns addressing the SJU housing selection crisis

This week, St. John’s Residential Life and Housing is conducting its yearly room selection for junior and some senior Johnnies.

What was supposed to be a moment of progress for many turned out to be an unexpected long process. We believe the following are some of the major issues arising from the SJU Res Life Department that led to this week’s lackluster and confusing housing selection.

*Off Campus Housing*

We believe decreasing the off-campus housing number forced more students to stay on campus. Having apartments go faster than usual left out rising juniors from experiencing that in which they are indeed eligible for. This is not sitting well with students who feel they should be offered off-campus housing within their four years at SJU.

This has been an ongoing issue for students and admin for years. We must make note that if CSB+SJU wants to be a competitive university, admin must now make decisions that would make students want to attend SJU as well as stay at SJU for their full collegiate experience.

*Selection Times & Groups*

We believe that selection times should not be during class time and should be held on the weekends to provide people with more room to make the selection and not rush because of classes or meetings. We also must raise the concern of selection groups that affect registration times. This year, groups with a mixture of seniors and juniors all had to select housing under the juniors’ selecting time.

This disenfranchises seniors who cannot get their desired housing because they have a junior in their group.

We propose going back to an old model where there was a time for seniors only, a time for mixed groups and a time for juniors only. Talking with students, this is a favorable option. We must also mention how this has affected programs on campus like the Benedictine Living Learning Community.

“I signed up for BLLC solely because I was guaranteed to be on upper campus. Thanks to this disaster, I’ve been forced to Flynntown” said Edward Kies, SJU rising junior.

*Transfer Concern*

Many students who feel neglected in this process have considered transferring (mainly rising juniors). This is due to a myriad of concerns outlined in this article and ones not mentioned. Some transfer students have been forced to live in dorms that do not correspond with their current age.

For example, students who take a few years off from schooling before returning are considered “first-years” in the institution’s eyes and are forced to live in Tommy or Mary Hall. This is not suitable for these individuals, but Res Life has been stubborn and refused to even consider reasonable requests for these individuals to either move off campus or move into Flynntown for reasons that have not been given.

*Fees*

Will room and board for seniors and juniors be based on where they live? If so, this is extremely unfair, especially considering that it was due to the negligence of the housing department. If not, this should also be addressed so students can be aware financially if they must make certain arrangements.

*Leadership*

This ordeal can be attributed to the director of the Res Life Department at SJU, Jameson Nogowski, and senior administrative officials of the university. Nogowski in his role as director should have recognized there was a housing crisis on the loom before housing selection this week, especially considering that senior housing was done exactly one week ago today.

It should have been clear at that point that there would not be enough eligible housing left for juniors, whose housing placement would take place on April 16, exactly five days later.

Had Res Life been proactive and provided sufficient communication regarding this matter, this entire situation could have been prevented. Instead, we find ourselves in a convoluted situation that is still trying to be resolved, and in its wake, there are a lot of frustrated students.

“I’m a sophomore at St. John’s, and it’s sad to see what they are doing to this experience. This school is known for being the place to be, and that’s slowly fading away” said Mitch Vener, SJU rising junior.

Let it be known that the St. John’s University Residential Life and Housing Department failed the student body during this selection period, and we are calling for administration to revamp its policies and procedures when it comes to housing selection and policy.

We are also looking for the department to take responsibility for this big inconvenience. A petition has been sent out and signed by more than 200 CSB+SJU students.