Large frosh class results in campus housing shortage

With University dorms filled to capacity, many are left out in the cold. This year's unusually high admissions yield, which took in approximately 200 more freshmen than expected, brought with it a significant housing crunch that left the University with not enough beds to offer for the first time in almost 20 years, housing officials said this week. With the college house system currently operating at full capacity -- every one of Penn's 5,272 beds are occupied -- housing officials say the deficit is unprecedented. "Since 1982 we have never turned people away from a bed space," Housing Assignments Manager Donna Boyko said. Since early August, however, students still requesting on-campus housing have been turned away repeatedly. The waiting lists for on-campus housing at one point this summer reached about 200 students, and about 50 to 60 of those students received letters in August stating that they would not be able to secure on-campus housing. The others were either placed or dropped off the list to explore other off-campus options. Housing officials refused to provide exact figures for how many students applied for on-campus housing and how many have been turned away. The housing crunch has also had repercussions for this year's 221 incoming transfer students, about 25 percent of whom may spend up to all of first semester in the Sheraton University City Hotel or Sansom Place, formerly known as the Graduate Towers. Currently, about 74 transfer and international students are scheduled for temporary housing, with 58 in the Sheraton and 16 in Sansom Place, officials said. These students will be relocated to spots on campus as soon as openings appear. In prior years, even students who applied for housing as late as September have been able to secure a room, even if it is not the one they want, Director of Housing and Conference Service Doug Berger said, noting that all freshmen this year did receive on-campus housing, despite the crunch. Housing officials have tried to help all roomless students find housing by referring them to area off-campus landlords and even making calls to landlords themselves, Berger said. But while some transfer students said they would make the best of the situation, most were not thrilled with the limited options offered by the University. College sophomore Dave Easton, who transferred this year from Syracuse University, said he is not angry at Penn but that he's worried about living off campus in an unfamiliar place. "I'm going to be adapting to a new school and meanwhile I'm not going to be having the normal dorm life," he said. And College sophomore Ashley Hellinger, a transfer from Boston University, said she hopes the off-campus arrangements will not last the semester, because "it's definitely going to be a lot harder socially." Housing officials also sent out letters last month to students scheduled to live in high rise triples offering them a reduced room rate and dining incentives to take in another student. Berger said that only those students living in triples that had previously been three-room quads received the letter, and only two responses were received. The displaced students will pay a standard semester board fee and can sign up for a dining plan within Penn's dining facilities, Berger said. All students temporarily housed in either the Sheraton or Sansom Place will receive "affiliation with the college house of their choice" so that they may make use of the house's facilities and advising services, Director of College Houses and Academic Services David Brownlee said. According to Sheraton General Manager Ken Kapikian, the Sheraton will be compensated for the use of the rooms by Penn, but exactly how much money will change hands has not yet been determined. Kapikian said that since the hotel normally operates at about 70 percent occupancy, and the rooms reserved for Penn students compose about 10 percent of the hotel's capacity, the Sheraton should not suffer financially through the deal. Housing officials said they are confident that next year's housing assignment period will fare better for all students, since they have time to prepare for a larger number of residents. The biggest problem this year, Berger said, was that the large freshman class was unexpected and the department did not have enough warning. "I think we'll be better prepared [next year]," Berger said. "I think we've learned some lessons."

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