As some students return from a holiday break at home, others are returning from semesters spent around the world. Claire Wilson-Black (junior) said that despite Occidental’s warm welcome, many students returning from abroad face the negative effects of a housing challenge.
Leaving in the fall to study urban policy, studies and design in Berlin, Germany, Wilson-Black said she did not foresee the housing issues she and her classmates would experience upon returning. However, in the months leading up to her return, she said she started to notice problems with the housing logistics.
“It seems like there’s not enough space; people aren’t getting to go where they want,” Wilson-Black said. “I did kind of anticipate that in the months leading up.”
Coming back from a semester abroad in Bristol, England, Hannah Lou Rathouz (junior) said she was both nervous and excited for her return but also felt some unease from her peers.
“It seemed that a lot of people were having trouble achieving living situations they were even comfortable with,” Rathouz said via email.
Despite many classmates experiencing less success, Rathouz said she was only in contact with Residential Education and Housing Services (REHS) to request a chosen roommate, which she was able to do. She said that because there are so few beds, if students have a decent housing situation, they should stick with it.
Occidental students received an email Jan. 13 from Associate Director of Housing Services Monique Hankerson stating the campus was at full capacity and REHS anticipated every bed on campus to be filled for the spring semester.
Wilson-Black said she sympathizes with students who were left confused and frustrated by placements in vacant rooms in Themed Living Communities (TLCs) that they did not apply to live in or identify with. According to the REHS page on the Occidental website, the TLC housing program is intended to create environments for students with shared values or identities to create community and uplift each other.
“Other people have been placed in less ideal situations than me,” Wilson-Black said. “I just feel like they deserve a bit more of an explanation.”
Rathouz said she questioned her housing placement as a white student.
“I was placed in the Black Soul Collective (BSC) TLC,” Rathouz said via email. “This placement was surprising to me […] [and] it seems like a disrespectful and odd choice considering the [BSC] is supposed to be a space for Black students.”
According to Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Residential Education, Housing Services and Student Conduct, Isaiah Thomas, REHS could only place students where there were already vacancies available and that it is harder to place students returning in the spring since they do not participate in the fall room draw.
“Students who study abroad in the fall and return to campus mid-year are placed in any vacancies available. I do believe one of the challenges we experienced this year was that a very high number of students studied abroad in the fall semester and requested housing for spring,” Thomas said via email. “This number was higher than the number of students who left to study abroad in the spring semester. When there is a difference like this, it does mean that our halls are fuller than what we may have experienced in previous years.”
According to Thomas, these circumstances leave little room for preferences since preferred spaces for juniors and seniors, such as singles or doubles with friends, tend not to be available mid-year.
Wilson-Black said she understands REHS’ job is not easy but feels they could do better.
“I have great empathy for what [REHS has] to do, it’s a tough job,” Wilson-Black said. “[But] I wish that we had had more of an explanation because then I think people could be a lot more empathetic.”
Despite frustration and confusion from students, REHS is clear that they anticipate more changes as the semester continues.
“Typically, we learn of students taking a leave of absence or not returning to Oxy as the semester progresses,” Thomas said.
REHS anticipates changes in room vacancies that would allow for housing adjustments, Thomas said, as well as the official room change process that takes place in the third week of each semester. Thomas said REHS is working with the International Programs Office (IPO) to clarify housing information for students studying abroad in the future, in hopes of minimizing confusion.
As the dust settles, REHS hopes to tackle challenges as they continue receiving feedback.
“We will continue to work with students individually on their housing challenges,” Thomas said.
Contact Amelia Darling at adarling@oxy.edu
