Housing in high demand, short supply

Students living in on-campus housing this year may find
themselves squeezed in a bit tighter than in previous years.

Unexpectedly high numbers of incoming freshmen and returning
campus residents, combined with the effect of ongoing construction
on the Hill, have created a shortage of living space, housing
officials said.

Frank Montana, manager for community housing and outreach at
Housing Services, said housing has dealt with the influx of
residents mostly by opening up more triple rooms.

This year, Montana said, 82 percent of freshmen are assigned to
triples, whereas last year just 52 percent were.

Additionally, he noted that by closing Sproul Hall for
renovation this year and opening Rieber Terrace in its place,
Housing lost 300 spaces.

The total number of residents living in on-campus housing this
year was not available.

A large part of the space crunch can be attributed to the fact
that housing services allowed fourth-year students and second-year
transfer students to return to on-campus housing for the first time
this year, Montana said.

“That created more demand,” he said. “But we
do feel we can accommodate those students. The projections we had
(about how many students would return to university housing) were
in the ballpark.”

But he added that next year, housing services will not offer
on-campus housing to fourth-year students or second-year transfer
students.

“That will put us in a better position (to meet the demand
for housing),” he said.

Because of this year’s unusually large freshman class, the
number of on-campus residents rose above housing’s expected
capacity, Montana said.

“It was a matter of hearing from admissions, and (the
number of freshmen admitted is) something we obviously can’t
control,” he said of the number of incoming freshmen.
“All we can do is guarantee (housing) and then live with that
guarantee.”

This year, maintaining that guarantee necessitated some
last-minute juggling.

After Hedrick and Rieber halls were overbooked, housing
reassigned between 50 and 55 students to residences that still had
open spaces, or where contracts had been cancelled.

As a result, many freshmen were assigned to Hitch Suites, which
have historically been dominated by upperclassmen and transfer
students.

Lindsay Sandberg, a first-year nursing student, said she was
reassigned in mid-summer to a triple room in Hitch after Housing
told her Hedrick Hall had been overbooked.

“The halls are supposed to have the “˜true freshman
experience,’ but it’s okay,” she said. “I
sympathize (with Housing Services.) I understand it’s hard to
find housing, especially in L.A.”

Housing is still working to guarantee four years of housing to
students and may ultimately decide to build more housing than is
currently planned, Montana said.

He added that the currently planned construction will neither
add nor remove rooms from any of the residence halls, and
consequently will not significantly change housing’s total
capacity.

Instead, the renovations will include structural changes like
plumbing and heating repairs, as well as cosmetic changes like
adding bulletin board walls in all rooms and replacing
furniture.

Montana said construction on the Hill is expected to last until
at least 2010, with parts of residence halls closed for renovation
during that time.

Until then, Montana said, housing will adjust the number of
triple rooms to meet demand each year.

This year, Housing also converted some lounges in residence
halls into triple rooms to maximize available space.

Danielle Ryan, a second-year English student, said though the
juggling seems to reflect poor planning, she thinks Housing is
handling the situation well.

“Obviously there were some planning problems,” she
said. “But the most important thing is that they get all the
freshmen on campus. As annoying as it’s going to be,
I’d rather live in a triple than live off-campus, especially
freshman year.”

Surveys conducted by housing services have suggested that living
in a triple has no significant effect on a student’s UCLA
experience, Montana said.

“In terms of quality of life, academic performance,
ability to make friends, retention rate, there is not a significant
difference (between students who live in triples and students who
live in other types of rooms),” he said.

But Jessika Herrera, a third-year linguistics and anthropology
student who lived in a triple her first year, said living in a
triple can be a hit-or-miss experience.

“It’s a tight squeeze,” she said. “The
lack of space made things a little less comfortable. (Whether the
residents have a good experience) really depends on the
roommates.”