350 students left without housing

Freshmen were hardest hit by the lack of available on-campus housing. In letters sent last week, Housing and Conference Services informed 350 students that they had been denied on-campus housing and will now have to reconsider their living options for next year. While housing officials could not offer an exact breakdown of the students by year, it appears that the freshman class -- the largest of the four undergraduate years -- has been hit the hardest. Many have been denied not just one of their top choices, but any on-campus housing at all. "I feel like I've gotten the shaft," College freshman Judah Lebow said. "It's fairly unacceptable. People turn over a large sum of money to go here and can't get housing." The current Kings Court resident had wanted to live in a quad apartment in one of the high rises. Housing officials said the number of students unable to reserve an on-campus slot is not alarmingly higher than last year, when approximately 375 students were denied housing after the assignments process. The homeless students now have several options. They can put themselves on a waiting list, they can apply for one of the 65 available spaces in the graduate towers or they can get temporary housing in the Sheraton Hotel and move back on campus when cancellations occur. Students have until Wednesday to choose one of these options. Should they choose to reject those choices, they must seek off-campus housing. To make students familiar with their options, housing administrators hosted an information session for students last night in Hamilton College House. Many of the students, however, were largely dissatisfied with the way in which housing services was dealing with the situation and demanded that more effective measures be taken. The students who attended the meeting were primarily freshmen who are currently living in typically freshmen dormitories -- such as Kings Court/English House, Hill House and the Quad -- and are looking for rooms in the high rises. "My roommates and I didn't understand how difficult it would be [to get housing] -- I certainly didn't expect this," College freshman Chidinma Ibe said. "[The University] brings people from all over the country, all over the world and then you get this," said College freshman Tara O'Reggio, a current Quad resident who wanted to live in a triple in the high rises with her friends. Graduate associates and residential advisors across campus said they have discussed the housing shortage with their residents. Several GAs and RAs have noticed that some freshmen have been denied housing, but none have reported excessive numbers of their freshmen being denied housing next year. Housing officials attributed the number of possible waitlist candidates to the success of the college house system. They pointed out that students are choosing prime room types in the high rise dorms -- such as three-room triples and four-bedroom quads -- that include private bed space and kitchens. "I think in the past few years we've made on-campus housing more attractive and we're seeing the outcome of that," Director of College Houses and Academic Services David Brownlee said. Brownlee added that the addition of 1,000 extra college house beds as part of Penn's massive overhaul of its residential system is intended to meet the increasing demand for on-campus housing. But that is a long-term project, he cautioned. "We cannot, and no one should believe we can, produce the beds overnight," he said. While it is uncertain how many will choose to stay on the upperclassmen waitlist and hope to receive an assignment on a situational basis as cancellations come in, Associate Director of Occupancy Administration Ellie Rupsis said approximately 300 students of the 375 students chose to stay on the waitlist last year. Daily Pennsylvanian staff writer Michael Sonsino contributed to this article.

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