For the class of 2021 and under, housing at the University of New Haven was not a concern. The upperclassmen  were not as fortunate.

In 2017, the University accepted more students than ever before and guaranteed incoming students four years of housing. Due to the lack of housing, incoming students were placed  in sophomore and junior housing, such as Winchester and Celentano. The classes following the class of 2021 were guaranteed housing. The incoming classes have increased in size which created a higher demand for on-campus housing. This left many students in the class of 2020 without on-campus housing this fall.

NikkiAnn Ryan,a senior studying criminal justice, Ryan was planning to live on campus with her three roommates for their final year, but when the housing registration website crashed,last April they were left without dorming for the fall.

Knowing they were not guaranteed housing, Ryan and her three roommates put their $500 deposit down early to be eligible for priority housing. However when the time came to select their fall housing, all of the rooms were taken. All four of them immediately emailed  the Office of Residential Life (ORL), as they have helped many students in the same situation.

ORL; however, did not return their email until the middle of June 2019. 

After the unforeseen circumstances, they were able to find a house close to campus Ryan said she was surprised to find a house under such short notice. “We were very frustrated that none of us heard from ORL-they never thought to check in to see if we were doing okay with not being able to get housing,”Ryan said.

With it being the second week of the semester, she and her roommates have already adapted to their new routine. “There’s definitely a good level of independence associated with living off campus and it provides my roommates and I with the opportunity to learn valuable life skills like budgeting and making sure we pay our bills,”Ryan said. While living off campus does give students a new sense of independence and responsibility, being forced off campus  upset Ryan and many other seniors.

The class of 2020 will be graduating this year, allowing next year the first year where housing is guaranteed across the university.  This provides students the opportunity to choose for themselves where they would like to live.