Housing issues for next fall have been a major priority for many Temple students and administrators. The policy, limiting housing to freshmen, sophomores and transfer students, was born after months of discussions. This cause of controversy has left many students feeling angry and has even caused some to consider transferring to other universities.
“It makes me want to leave Temple,” said Carlisa Robinson, an Accounting and Finance major. The policy has also left some wondering whether or not Temple’s new policy is unusual among colleges of similar size.
Of Temple’s 24,802 undergraduate students, about 23,289 attend classes on main campus. Only 27 percent, or about 5,560 students, of all undergraduates live on campus.
Although a small percentage of Temple’s main campus undergraduate population actually lives on campus, Temple does not differ greatly among schools of similar size in urban areas.
The University of Pittsburgh’s main campus, for example, located just east of downtown Pittsburgh, has about 17,350 undergraduate students. Of those, 3,169 students are enrolled in their first year at the school.
Pitt guarantees housing for freshman, sophomores and juniors who submit applications by the housing deadlines. About 6,940 students, or 40 percent of the undergraduate population, opt to live in one of the university’s 11 residence halls.
The University of Texas at Austin has 38,748 undergraduate students. About 7,935 of those students are at first year enrollment status. Ninety-three percent of those students are in-state residents, and seven percent come from locations out of state and around the world.
Although housing priority is given to first-year students, the sophomores, juniors and seniors are given access to housing as long as they submit applications by the appropriate deadline. Seventeen percent of the undergraduate student population, or about 6,588 students, live on campus.
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, located in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul in Minnesota, has 28,103 undergraduate students, 5,188 of which are first-year students.
Of those students, 6,182 students live on campus. Sixty-seven percent of students are from Minnesota while 37 percent come from other locations. There are 5,558 students who live on campus.
Robert Asheuer, a Biology major and Philadelphia native, lives in an on-campus dorm. He isn’t surprised by the comparisons. Asheuer, who considered the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pennsylvania before coming to Temple, maintains that if he knew Temple was going to change its housing policy, he would have avoided the school completely.
“I am, quite honestly, panic stricken,” Asheuer said. “I’m currently looking into apartments and saving my money so that if worse comes to worse, I’ll be able to pool in my money with some friends and get a place together.”
Tulin Ozturkcan be reached at tozturk@temple.edu
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