This week, the Student Government Association discussed the recently announced housing changes. 

DORM AND APARTMENT CHANGES

Director of Housing and Residence Life Spencer Green explained some of the housing changes which Biola recently announced. Green said that Biola housing has emergency rooms, or spaces where students can go to be safe during crisis — a building flood or roommate problem — and that at the start of the semester, only emergency rooms were open for men. According to Green, Alpha changing to co-ed housing solved the emergency bed situation. 

Green explained that students older than 21 or have 60 credit units at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year will be able to apply to get a Biola apartment. He noted that these changes had been planned for several months and that it was easiest to announce them all together. Green acknowledged both concerns about men living in the last all-female hall as well as surveys from Alpha residents indicating that some did want a co-ed space.

“I can say all this but at the end of the day, it doesn’t change the fact that people are hurt,” Green said. “We want to show love, care and flexibility to accommodate for the student experience that’s taking the brunt of the hit right now.”

MARRIED HOUSING

Horton Senator Liz Kim gave a presentation about married couples at Biola. Kim noted that there are 50 married couples at Biola — some undergraduate and some graduate — and explained that university married and family housing costs an average of $1178 per month. Married couples turned down from graduate housing, Kim explained, may rent a La Mirada apartment or remain separate until they can find a place to live. She encouraged SGA to network with the Global Student Programs and Development and Biola Shares to raise awareness about the need for available, accessible marriage housing for graduate students. 

Graduate housing assistant manager Nate Cleveland said that there were two married couples living separately last semester after they applied for married housing and were not accepted. Cleveland noted the Biola married and housing apartments have the capacity to hold 46 families, a space constraint which makes the housing process extremely competitive. To underscore this point, Cleveland explained he was only able to secure apartments for three of the 15 undergraduate couples who got engaged last year and applied for married housing. 

Cleveland said that married international students need additional background checks as well as a bank account balance of $10,000, so they are at the top of the priority list for apartments, followed by out-of-state students and then locals. 

UPDATES

SGA president Christie Macris encouraged senators to welcome students at the Biola Preview Day taking place Feb. 19–20. Macris then discussed Blackstone Senator Iziphozonke Mlambo’s findings that several students in his dorm would like to skateboard on campus, an activity which is currently permitted in La Mirada but prohibited at Biola. Macris explained that the university would be held liable if a student was injured while skateboarding. Macris floated possible ideas to allow skateboarding on campus like having students sign a waiver or get a permit.