The lack of guaranteed on-campus housing for juniors and seniors has put students in positions where they must consider withdrawing from William and Mary, drop out, or live in a vehicle during the semester. For those who can’t afford off-campus housing, students have voiced there is “not enough aid for low-income Juniors and Seniors.”
Yannie personally had to consider withdrawing because she didn’t have housing and understands this burden and the absurdity of having to consider forgoing education because of a preventable housing shortage. In administrative meetings, it was expressed that professional calculations had been done to determine it was safe to take 400 beds offline. When we pushed to find out how this was determined, we did not get concrete actions taken to make sure students wouldn’t face a burden, so we hope to learn more. During a meeting with some members of the BOV, it was expressed that they had pushed to increase the university’s acceptance rate, yet individuals were not aware of the housing crisis.
Previous and Current Work:
Met with Williamsburg City Councilman Caleb Rogers to discuss various issues regarding off-campus housing
Took part in meetings with administration and BOV members to raise concerns regarding both on-campus and off-campus housing opportunities
Policy Moving Forward:
Transparency:
Get an explanation and answer for students as to how it was determined that taking 400 beds offline would not significantly negatively impact students
Numbers from the university around last year's housing outcomes
How many students got off the waitlist one week before decisions closed
How many students did not get off the waitlist
Establishing an Office of Housing like many other schools. Or at the least, providing a staff member to help students navigate housing.
i.e. JMU’s Off Campus Life office, UVA’s Off Grounds Housing Liason
Elevate this housing issue at the BOV, so acceptance rates accurately reflect dorm space
Encourage student voting in Williamsburg elections and continue to work with Williamsburg Councilman Caleb Rogers to advocate for student interest
Student voices in the city are important. Williamsburg policies affect how many students can live in off-campus houses and what time local noise ordinances go into effect