Students are being pushed off campus

By Cassandra Stevens •

I never thought I would have to worry about where my next home would be. When I received an email from the NSU Office of University Housing on Jan. 2, I started to wonder. It read that students “under the age of 20 are the only group guaranteed housing in the residence halls.”

I will be 20 this year, and that leaves my sophomore housing situation up to luck. I will be honest. I didn’t show up to NSU thinking I wanted to stay on campus all four years, but my opinion changed within weeks. I fell in love with the campus. Th e ability to walk to classes and run home for a refreshing nap is something I never had before.

That said, NSU is a growing campus, where housing options are not necessarily growing with the student population.
I am not the only one affected or concerned about this.

For Ashianna Trivedi, freshman neuroscience major, her favorite thing about being on campus is “being so close to friends.”

Students worry about missing out on campus life and transportation to class if they switch to off-campus housing.
Th is issue particularly affects out-of-state and international students.

“I don’t have anywhere to go,” said April Machta, sophomore public health major. “As an international student who goes home for breaks, how do you expect me to pay rent for the time I am not here? I cannot legally work outside of campus, and some international students depend on financial aid.”

Adjusting to a new state is already challenging for many students, but adjusting to a new country is beyond imagination and takes infinite courage.

They must face the financial reality of renting off-campus, which can be hard when their families are earning money in a different country with an unfavorable conversion rate. It takes time to know the area, and students who are not local will suffer when having to leave the safety of the campus.

“When I was touring before I became a freshman, they told me that I would have housing on campus all four years, but that was before they started over-accepting freshman,” said Machta.

Admitting less freshmen or building more residence halls could be possibilities for NSU as it works to combat this housing crisis. I hope there can be a change to prioritize the students already admitted and committed to NSU, instead of accepting more students who would eventually share my dilemma.