Students Struggle to find housing in campus crunch
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Florida Atlantic University Housing and Residential Education (HRE) denied more than 1,000 students on-campus housing for the 2023–2024 academic year on Feb. 27. Students were either denied or put on a massive waiting list.
Meanwhile, the city of Boca Raton has turned down opportunities to build more student housing, critics charge.
In 2021, the Boca Raton City Council rejected a proposal for a four-story apartment complex, designed to feature a pedestrian bridge that would have connected it to Florida Atlantic University.
At the time, Deputy Mayor Andrea Levine O’Rourke addressed FAU’s housing issue, commenting, “Is it our responsibility? I’m not sure,” she said according to a report in the Palm Beach Post.
FAU housing is unable to guarantee housing for upperclassmen as the school has more incoming students than expected. Parliament, a freshman-only dorm, is turning into an upperclassmen dormitory which has infuriated many students.
FAU’s Housing and Residential Education has given incoming freshmen priority move-in. In doing so, it gives new students an easier transition from high school to university, offering them the full college experience.
The housing crisis started in the 2018–2019 academic school year, as multiple freshmen were put into hotels because of the shortage of dormitories for underclassmen.
Housing department director, Catherine Kellman said housing is working with students individually related to their housing situation.
“Our admission partners continue to support and assist in assisting students during this process. The university has hosted an off-campus housing fair that provided students with information about off-campus properties.” Kellman said.
She said there are several hundred students that are waiting to see if they will get housing next year.
“Students can see their number on the waitlist and it does adjust as students are removed from the waitlist. Students on the waitlist are not charged a cancellation fee until they are assigned so there is no charge for being on the waitlist,” Kellman said.
With nowhere to go, students have had to look off-campus or have thought about transferring. FAU Owls share their frustration and worries about where they will live next year.
Gianna Biondollilo, a sophomore and computer science major, said she was surprised and shocked to see that she got denied for on-campus housing and was put on a waiting list.
“I’ve been a student at FAU for the past two years and it’s a little upsetting to still be treated as just a number. FAU housing has given priority to incoming freshmen and I’m stuck looking for an off-campus apartment or house,” Biondollilo said.
She said she started to look for houses with her friends because living in Parliament is worse than where she currently resides, Innovation Village Apartments, because of how limited a dorm is compared to an apartment.
“I do not want to return to sharing rooms and bathrooms with multiple girls and no kitchen. Having no kitchen means I would need a meal plan at the dining hall and that adds on to the tuition cost,” Biondollilo said. “I also have a little cat and she needs room to wander around. I would not want to keep her confined in one space.”
Alessandra Barbieri, a freshman and business major, said she has to go back to the drawing board to figure out what she will do for living situations.
“While my parents wanted me to live on-campus for one more year, my friends and I never planned on living in IVA or UVA. Unfortunately, we have been having trouble finding a place close to the school to live in,” Barbieri said.
She said as someone who lives in Parliament, she does not see it to be ideal as an upperclassmen dorm.
“Not having a kitchen is harder than I thought. The dining hall only has so many options and I am a picky eater. I also do not have a car on campus so going grocery shopping is out of the equation,” Barbieri said. “Our dorms are only so big to store food because we have certain requirements for having a fridge, microwave, toaster oven, etc.”
Isabella Mantovani, freshman and health science major on the pre-med track, found out at the end of summer 2022, that she was not approved for on-campus housing.
“They claimed that they would not be able to provide me housing and told me to look for off-campus housing,” Mantovani said. “Then a week or two later, housing reached out to me, offering the hotel, Renaissance on NW 19th St, at a much higher price than the dorms. When I moved into the hotel, we found out it was under construction as well.”
She said living off-campus makes her feel isolated from her friends and the FAU community.
“We weren’t able to walk around or participate in events as we have a scheduled shuttle to take us back to the hotel at certain times. At first, it was not a big deal because I had my car, but when they started construction on Glades Road, I got into a major accident, not having my car for a good chunk of time,” Mantovani said.
Mantovani said although they do not live on campus, they are still forced to pay for a meal plan.
“They obligated us to choose an extremely inconvenient meal plan. I would get to the dining hall, eat my meal in 20–30 minutes, and have to wait another full hour for the shuttle to come back. If housing could provide all their freshman students with on-campus housing, I would have had a much more enjoyable first year,” said Mantovani.
