Sudden moves can be traumatic, especially in college. Getting situated in a dorm room and meeting new friends are important aspects of college life, but the prospect of being forced to move after trying to do these things is unsettling.
For 20 female residents of Claver 4, this unsettling prospect became a reality last week, when they were informed that they had only 12 days to find a new place to live because of a “male housing crunch.”
It is commendable for the Department of Residence Life and Housing to try solving housing problems in the residence halls, but it seems the department is abandoning its own mission statement, which states, “primary efforts will be directed to the well-being of the student.”
The residents were informed of the university’s decision by a letter slipped under their doors in the middle of the night only 12 days before the deadline for moving. If Residence Life and Housing really had the well-being of these students in mind, we would hope that these professionals could find a better way of informing them that they must move, and that they give them a deadline of more than two weeks.
It is a sad fact that very few students probably actually read the resident agreement form, which allows the university “to assign students to open spaces without prior notification,” before they sign it. That being said, The Mirror hopes that the university would use this power sparingly, and with the utmost care. While evictions have not been commonplace recently, the apparently callous attitude of university officials in this matter make it hard for students to believe that Residence Life and Housing has their welfare as a priority.
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