Updated: April 20, 10:45 a.m.
About 59 upperclassmen and 77 underclassmen had been wait-listed for available rooms late Tuesday morning, though there are still homeless students like Timothy Sheff, a freshman from Sigma, who have yet to sign up for the wait list.
“I didn’t even bother,” Sheff explained. “I spent a good hour on Friday talking to Housing and it got nowhere. She pretty much said that it wouldn’t be fair for the incoming students if they took away rooms for the students that are already here, which to me is illogical, because you shouldn’t be making room for people that aren’t here when you haven’t taken care of the people that are already here.”
April 18, 11:30 p.m.
Scores of panicked students descended on the Housing department Monday morning as students across campus discovered that all available rooms had been taken, leaving many unexpectedly homeless for the 2011-2012 school year.
Both male and female on-campus rooms for doubles were filled by 11 a.m. on Monday morning, the first day of different building selection, and the handful of remaining triples were snatched up soon after. Housing officially closed different building selection around 11:45 a.m. Monday, though it was supposed to run through Tuesday, meaning scores of students were put on a waiting list.
Students face separation from roommates
Freshman Kayleigh Turney described the panic that she and her roommate experienced when they logged onto MyHousing at their designated 11:07 a.m. lottery time, only to discover there were no available double rooms in any dorm. She went to the Housing office, and was told there was a possibility she and her roommate would be split up in order to be placed in a room. Turney was added to the wait list.
“We went to talk to Housing, and they said they might split us up and we might not even be with our roommate,” Turney said. “So now we’re really kind of freaking out about it, because we really don’t want to be split up and put into a triple with people we don’t even know.”
Underclassmen must be accommodated on campus
Turney’s fears are shared by many underclassmen. Under Biola’s policies, all freshmen and sophomores under age 21 and not living with family are required to live on campus, and Housing representatives have assured underclassmen that enough rooms are set aside that they will indeed have a place to live come fall. But the story is much different for upperclassmen.
The requirement to have underclassmen live on campus means upperclassmen receive a lower priority, despite Residence Life’s expressed desires to keep a mixture of underclassmen and upperclassmen living together. Many students have expressed frustration over the number of incoming students Admissions is admitting, which in part prevents current students from getting rooms.
“I understand that most of Biola’s income comes from tuition, but there is a clause in our contract that says we have to have housing if we’re underclassmen, and we can’t be held to that if they’re not giving us adequate amount of space,” said Timothy Sheff, a freshman from Sigma.
Students wait listed for housing
Housing manager Heidi Herchelroath said last Friday that she anticipated a waiting list of just under 200 students after the entire selection process was complete.
“We have individual lottery on Wednesday,” Herchelroath said. “Individuals will probably be placed in open rooms together and create roommate groups — but I don’t know yet. We’re making our best educated guess.”
Housing not guaranteed for all
The individual lottery only applies to future sophomores, however, who will likely be split up from their roommates. Juniors and seniors can place their names on a wait list at Housing between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, but rooms are not guaranteed for them and they are being encouraged to explore other options. Representatives at the housing office Monday morning said that spots may open up over the summer if students choose not to return to Biola for the fall semester.
