Catherine Wunderly, a front desk supervisor for Hedrick Court, was asleep when she received six 1 a.m. emergency calls in early November.

The next morning, the second-year neuroscience student said she had learned a flood had impacted Hedrick Hall – a dorm building in Hedrick Court – displacing 32 students from 11 dorm rooms.

“It was a bit overwhelming and stressful to have to relay information to residents when you don’t even know the full story yourself,” she said.

Wunderly was one of the many UCLA students who experienced a range of housing issues during the 2025-26 academic year, from floods to broken laundry machines.

The Hedrick Hall flood, which was triggered by a sprinkler in the dorm’s stairwell, forced impacted residents to be relocated to emergency housing. Saxon Suites also flooded in March because of a water main break, which impacted 30 units.

[Related: Water main break causes flooding at Saxon Suites, impacts 30 units]

A UCLA Housing spokesperson said in an emailed statement that impacted students were relocated to emergency housing while housing and maintenance staff fixed the damages.

“Student safety and well-being remained UCLA Housing’s highest priority throughout each of these incidents,” the spokesperson said.

Wunderly, who lives in De Neve Evergreen, said she feels grateful she did not experience issues in her own dorm building.

“It just makes me happy that I’m not in that situation,” she said. “It definitely makes me appreciate having a functioning dorm.”

Abby Heckler, a first-year astrophysics student who lived in Saxon Suites, said while the March flooding incident did not affect her unit, many other rooms had their water shut off. Some residents used her dorm’s private shower because they were displaced from their rooms, she added.

“The accident was completely unseen,” Heckler said. “It was a ‘What the heck is going on?’ moment.”

Although the flood temporarily disrupted her daily routine, Heckler said she had a positive housing experience overall.

Xander Valerio, a second-year political science student who lived in Olympic Hall, said while many of his friends plan to move into apartments next year, he chose to stay in the dorms because of the convenience.

“I didn’t really want to do that yet,” he said. “It just seems like I’m trying to be an adult faster.”

However, Valerio said he experienced issues with Olympic Hall’s laundry machines being frequently broken.

[Related: UCLA students experience dissatisfaction with inefficient laundry systems]

“That’s why I do my laundry at four in the morning,” he said. “Because there’s no one there, so you’re more likely to be able to have a free machine.”

Maya Ponce, a fourth-year sociology student who lives in Levering Terrace, said flooding occurred in her building because of a burst pipe. Maintenance shut off her water for a few hours because of the incident, she added.

“Somebody on the second floor got completely flooded,” she said. “Sewage was coming out of the drains.”

Overall, Ponce said she enjoyed living in university-owned housing because facilities management quickly responded to issues, including furniture and appliance repairs.

Tierra Booth, a graduate student in UCLA’s teacher education program who lived in Weyburn Terrace, said UCLA’s decision to convert the building into undergraduate housing overwhelmed many graduate students because the transition process was rushed.

UCLA Housing plans to convert Weyburn Terrace into undergraduate housing over the next three years, it announced in a Jan. 14 email to residents. Students in three buildings – Aloe, Magnolia and Sycamore – must vacate their units by July 1, 2027, UCLA Housing added in the email.

The conversion of Weyburn Terrace will allow the university to fulfill its four-year housing guarantee for undergraduate students and two-year housing guarantee for transfer students, UCLA Housing said in the email.

[Related: UCLA to turn Weyburn Terrace from graduate to undergraduate housing]

The Graduate Students Association criticized the decision, alleging a lack of input from graduate students.

[Related: GSA condemns conversion of Weyburn Terrace to undergraduate housing]

Graduate student housing eligibility remains unchanged, a UCLA Housing spokesperson said in the emailed statement. New university-owned housing, including Wilshire and Venice-Berryman apartment buildings, have expanded housing capacity for graduate students, they added.

“UCLA Housing remains committed to providing graduate students with access to university-managed housing options while continuing to evaluate opportunities to expand and strengthen graduate housing inventory in the future,” the spokesperson said in the statement.

Booth said she believes UCLA should have informed graduate students about the change earlier.

“They’re transforming Weyburn into undergrad housing, and that’s not fair for future grad students because they’re taking away that accessibility to campus,” she said.

Booth, who moved into a university-owned apartment building on Wilshire Boulevard in April, added that she feels happier overall about her current housing, but Weyburn Terrace’s conversion caused her stress on top of her work and academics.

“I was happy and grateful to be in housing, however, I do feel they started throwing all these different changes around,” she said. “It did throw me off because you’re hearing this news in the midst of your quarter and you’re trying to get through school.”