Housing fees don’t see peak

An increase in tuition will not be the only likely fee hike for
students living in the dormitories next year.

On-campus housing costs also are expected to increase,
consequently burning a larger hole in students’ pockets.

Dan Les, business manager for Housing and Hospitality Services,
said the amount has not yet been determined but that rates will not
go up as much as in the recent past.

On average, UCLA Housing fees have jumped $398 per year since
the 1994-1995 academic year.

Students might wonder why the hikes continue to outpace average
economic inflation in the country.

Les said rates go up mainly because UCLA Housing is an auxiliary
service, meaning it does not receive financial support from outside
sources. Instead, the only funds it receives come from
residents’ fees.

“(Students) are our only source of revenue. Unfortunately,
that’s the dynamic of being an auxiliary service,” Les
said.

Housing also depends on conference and summer session revenues
for financing operations. But most of the financial support comes
from students who live in the residence halls during the academic
year.

Housing has two categories of cost, said Jack Gibbons, associate
director of the Office of Residential Life.

The first category is debt from construction and renovation
projects that cost Housing millions of dollars. To finance such
projects, Housing sells bonds to the public that it must pay back,
accumulating debt in the process.

Housing is in debt because of ongoing construction projects,
Gibbons said.

“With every new project, we increase our debt, and
students pay for this in their contract rate,” he said.

The second type of expenditure comes from operating expenses
such as utilities, heating, lighting and product cost. These costs
increase every year and are independent of construction and
renovation.

For some students, the price of construction and renovation are
not only monetary.

Current dorm residents are subjected to the sounds of
jackhammers and other noises associated with construction, which
begins as early as 6 a.m.

Tim Rosenbaum, a first-year computer science and molecular
engineering student who lives in Rieber Hall, said he is tired of
the constant noise that occurs during the week and on
Saturdays.

“I sleep through many things, but I don’t sleep
through (construction),” Rosenbaum said.

Many residents are curious about why they must pay for current
construction costs when they will not enjoy the final
product’s benefits.

They are paying for the real beneficiaries ““ incoming
freshmen and transfer students who will move in when construction
is completed.

“I buy my own clothes. I buy my own food. Why should I buy
other people’s housing?” Rosenbaum said.

Michael Foraker, director of Housing, said each generation of
students gets benefits obtained at the expense of their
predecessors.

“(Residents) of De Neve are benefiting from the costs of
previous residents who put up with similar experiences,”
Foraker said.

In a similar fashion, Sunset Village residents are enjoying the
construction costs of residents from the late 1980s.

Foraker added that residence hall students’ fees also
contribute toward high quality programs such as dining facilities
and access to computer labs.

But with recent state budget proposals that recommend a 10
percent decrease in freshmen admissions, some residents question
whether the construction of new housing should be a priority.

Foraker said dorm facilities are necessary to fulfill the
provisions of the UCLA Housing Master Plan, a 10-year project
formulated in 2000 and expected to finish in 2011.

The plan is designed to increase provisions of guaranteed
housing from two years to four years for freshmen, and from one
year to two years for transfer students. It also intends to ensure
two years of housing for graduate students, who currently do not
have any on-campus housing privileges.

Foraker said the fulfillment of the master plan is on track and
eventually will provide students with housing prices competitive
with those of the private sector.

“We have to … provide current and future generations of
students with more affordable housing,” Foraker said.

But the disappointing fact remains that current residents might
not be able to experience the immediate benefits of the master
plan.

“We are getting shafted. … (The dorms) will be nice at
about the time we graduate,” Rosenbaum said.