Causal Paper on Penn State's housing shortage by Emily Chiappini

Shelter, like food and water, is one of the basic necessities of life. However, while Penn State can offer admission to thousands of students every year, it cannot provide this basic requirement of housing for all of its pupils. Many of Penn State’s students do not have a place to live next year because they did not get a housing contract when they requested it. Unfortunately, Penn State did not notify them of their lack of living accommodations for next year until very late in the current school year, leaving many students the difficult task of finding off-campus housing. What caused this housing shortage on campus? One reason was the increase in demand for on-campus housing contracts (Miceli). Another reason can be found in the construction of North Halls, which caused a decrease in the rooms available to students wishing to live on-campus next year (Miceli). But, could Penn State have also accepted more freshmen than usual, adding to the housing shortage situation? All of these are pertinent reasons for Penn State leaving a considerable amount of students homeless for the 2006 – 2007 school year.

An increase in the demand for on-campus housing is a primary starting place for the cause of the housing shortage for the upcoming school year. Lynn DuBois, who is the associate director of housing, said that they were surprised by the increase in demand for on-campus housing contracts (Miceli). Last year, 9,039 students requested on-campus housing contracts and only fourteen were denied one for the current 2005 – 2006 school year (Miceli). This year, 10,217 students requested housing contracts, and only 8,950 students were offered a contract, leaving over twelve hundred people without housing for next year compared to the mere fourteen people left without housing for this year (Miceli). Apparently, students prefer on-campus housing for its convenient location and proximity to classes, as well as for its safety. Kristen Kutz, interviewed in The Daily Collegian, belongs to the group of students not offered a contract for next year. She said that she enjoyed living on campus and continued to mention as reasons those already stated (Miceli). This increase in demand for on-campus housing was an unexpected surprise and played a large role in the shortage of housing contracts given out for the upcoming school year.

Another reason for the housing shortage is the construction currently taking place in North Halls (Miceli). With not just one dormitory, but an entire set of halls under construction for the upcoming school year, it is no wonder that Penn State is having a hard time housing people for the 2006 - 2007 school year. Some people feel that using the construction of North Halls as a reason for the housing shortage is not a valid excuse (On-Campus). “The dorms in North Halls were not occupied at all this year, yet only 14 students did not receive contracts for this year” (On-Campus). It is not the construction of North Halls alone, however, which led to the housing shortage. Even though only fourteen people were not granted housing contracts for the current school year with North Halls under construction, having these dormitories uninhabitable for next year plays a large role in the housing shortage crisis when over eleven hundred more people requested a contract for next year than those who did last year. It is the construction of North Halls added to the increase in housing contract requests that equals the cause for inadequate housing for students, not the construction alone. North Halls only contains three buildings, Holmes, Leete, and Runkle, making it the “smallest housing complex on campus (North). Compared with halls such as East, which contains fourteen buildings, North’s three buildings seem to be of little consequence. But when each building can hold hundreds of students, the considerable loss of these three buildings is more easily recognized. It is easier to see how North Halls, under construction for the upcoming school year, coupled with an increase in the demand for housing, has led to a shortage in the available housing for the 2006 – 2007 school year.

It is very well known that The Pennsylvania State University is the most applied to school in the nation. It is very possible that with a winning football team bringing in a more positive reputation and glamour to the school, admissions is even more overwhelmed with applicants than in recent years. Mathematically speaking, over eleven hundred more housing contracts were requested for next year than were requested for this year. This is inevitably going to lead to more students being denied a housing contract. However, it is also easy to see mathematically that there were seventy-five fewer housing contracts given out this year than last year. Could this be due to an increase in the freshmen admitted to Penn State who will make up the class of 2010 compared with the freshmen admitted who will make up the class of 2009? Liz Benullo, a Penn State sophomore, seems to believe so. In her letter to the editor she wrote, “Penn State officials appear to be greedy, and maybe if they'd stop accepting too many students or building suites that convert space meant for three rooms into one single room, there would be enough housing” (Benullo). The connection can be made quite feasibly since fewer housing contracts were given out to upperclassmen for next year than were for this year, and since “It is clearly stated to potential students that they are only guaranteed on-campus housing for one year” meaning freshmen are the only students guaranteed on-campus housing (Kreider). While the data which will contain the numbers with next year’s enrollment is not yet available, this year, Penn State’s total of 40,709 students was made up of 34,637 undergraduates, 6,496 of whom were freshmen (Enrollment). Therefore, a predictable increase in admissions for next year is another reasonable cause for current Penn State students being denied on-campus housing for next year.

It is hard to understand how Penn State can offer admission to so many students and yet fail to have a place for them to live. Housing is something that is obviously necessary when moving away from home to further one’s education at a college or university. However, Penn State could not offer over twelve hundred students housing for the upcoming school year. Many of these students are still desperately trying to figure out where they are going to live next year after having been denied on-campus housing. The cause of the housing shortage for the 2006 – 2007 school year can be linked to many factors: an increase in the demand for on-campus housing as compared to previous years, the lack of available on-campus housing due to North Halls being under construction, and the probable increase in the amount of freshmen, who are guaranteed housing, granted admission for the upcoming year as compared to previous years. Hopefully, some good will come out of the situation, and Penn State’s housing directors will be better prepared for next year’s housing contract requests, leaving far fewer students homeless, hopeless, and horrified.

Works Cited

Benullo, Liz. “Dorm contracts fail to meet need.” Letter to the Editor. The Digital Collegian 6 Feb. 2006. 20 March 2006 <http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2006/02/02-06-06tdc/02-06-06dops-letter-05.asp>.

Enrollment and Persistence. University Budget Office. 20 March 2006 <http://www.budget.psu.edu/CDS/Enrollment.asp?Location=UP&AY=20052006>.

Kreider, Kandace. “Housing guarantees rooms for first-year students only.” Letter to the Editor. The Digital Collegian 9 Feb. 2006. 20 March 2006 <http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2006/02/02-09-06tdc/02-09-06dops-letter-02.asp>.

Miceli, Rebecca. “Dorm contracts fail to meet need.” The Digital Collegian 1 Feb.2006. 20 March 2006 <http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2006/02/02-01-06tdc/02-01-06dnews-12.asp>.

North Halls. Housing: University Park. 20 March 2006 <http://www.hfs.psu.edu/North/>.

“On-Campus Housing Shortage: PSU response shows apathy toward students.” The Digital Collegian 6 Feb. 2006. 20 March 2006 <http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2006/02/02-06-06tdc/02-06-06dops-edit-01.asp>.

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