Housing Crisis Hits (Students

by Marie A. LeLoup

Three students are presently on a waiting list to get into Marian Hall, and it is reported that their chances of getting in before Christmas are next to impossible. Except for the fourth floor which is closed, Bernadine Hall is full. At Blanchard some students had to Wait until after the ISth day of September for an apart- ment when families relocating with the Department of Veterans Affairs moved-out; these apartments were not intended to be used for students this year.’ And in all residences some people who. hadiapplfed £Or.agsingle_ room were forced to take a‘ double room or attempt to find something off campus.

However, U.P.E.I. is not the only university to be hit by the housing shortage. All across Canada there are reports of students who started searching for apartments or rooms early in July rather than wait until September and have to sleep on someone's floor or, " worSe still, pitchaggggmgsﬁ; in someone's back yard.g§ a;

Ten thousand sthdents M from the University of British Columbia were forced to sleep in tents, ‘anny barracks and trailers that had no cooking or showering facilities; #000 were on'a waiting list for on-campus housing. In Victoria, the student society petitioned the Department of National Defense for the use of' barracks, while matresses had been'set up at Simon Fraser University for I approximately IOOO students who were homeless.z Students canvassed, petitioned, and started "Help a Friend” programs where students, with homes were asked to share with those still looking.- But many students in B.C. remained homeless and were not able to return to their studies in September as there was nowhere for them to live. . (Vancouver CUP)

{In Calgary, the student union from the University of Alberta ' ran a BStudent Housing; week” while the city's mayor helped by declaring the same week “Off Campus HOusing Week”. unless the students living in this

city are willing to pay

(CUP)

_on the floors.

$250. to $h00. per month

fOr a lone bedroom, unfurnished apartment (the rent does not include lights or utiTities) they are forced to take the room V and board type accommodation that many find unsuitable - they have just left their homes and few are willing

to re-enter the restrictive environment with the little privacy that rOOm and

board offers. '

(CUP Calgary)

In Winnipeg thene were ISO students‘waiting to get into a university residence in early Sept- ember. One girl living off

'campus had to start looking

for a new place to live; her landlord had decided to restore the interior of her room and was increasing the rent by $l00. per month.

Over IOO students from Wilfred Laurier University and the University of Waterloo participated in a lottery;

Ithe winners would get one

of the 25 to 50 beds available in residence.

The unﬁiyers‘j ty housing ’- oifiEeEWag so bogged down wiﬁhmhtuaeﬁt‘demand that

it appealed to the public for more rooms. Advertise- ments in the newspaper and

' 'On the radios and television

declared students were in

dire need of a place to

live. \V

(CUP Waterloo V ‘ Nearby in Kitchener,

the president of a 62 unit

condominium project attempted to convince the condinium board to pass a resolution that would deny

'rentals to students. LHe

claimed that students urinated and vomitted on neighbourhood laWns, cut down young trees, damaged the interiors of theiﬁii apartments and left‘garbagef Another agency that had never had any problems with students nevertheless refused to rent to them and one superintendant slammed‘the door in a girls face upon learning that she Was a student.f Some Kitchener

ﬁlandlords, however, did

cOnsider renting to students if parents would co-sign the lease. If not, students were forced to rent rooms that were infested with cockroaches. (Kitchener CUP)

There was a report

of.5 students at Bishop's _University who had been

accepted for residences

in April and told in July that their rooms were no longer available; there was a shortage of faculty offices so the professors were using the residence rooms for their offices.

It will last for two years. (Lennoxvilie CUP)

A student from New- foundland who had travelled to Ontario to attend Ryerson Polytechanical Institute was asked "what he looked like” when he phoned to ask for an apartment. (CUP)

Moving closer to Charlottetown, the McGill ghetto still stands. It has survived the trend common to all big cities, as people restore large downtown houses that have traditionally been popular with university students. Concordia students complain about paying over $l000.

a year for a single room

in residence while students at UPEI pay $ll26. to live

in Blanchard Hall for a year.

Saint FX was unprepared

' for a large increase in

enrollment. Consequently 70 male students were with- out permanent rooms and I7 freshmen were assigned four to a lounge. Some students voluntarily gave up single rooms to share with those who didn't have rooms, and rooms in two motels were rented. As a means of alleviating the ciisis the university was considering the idea of buying a house near campus that Could ‘“

men. . ‘These housing shortages have been caused by increased enrollment as well as by.a

combination of other factors? ; the population in some areas

is growing fasten thanwthé ,;=

‘ per apartment.

- THE UPEI 82%? Thursday, Ogiober l6, l980‘_Faas 5

housing starts; housing shortages in suburbs are forcing prOple to move to dwellings in the inner cities that have formerly been occupied by students; high interest rates make builders

‘reluctant to start new

projects; the federal government has stopped granting loans to post- secondary institutions for student housing; and land- lords are reluctant to rent to students.

The later factor is dominent in Charlottetown. The agency that represents Eigtg‘éniﬁaiff’éﬁrzi bﬁér‘i ts " would be permitted to reside there this year.

He claimed that at the end of last year, damages in apartments rented to students amounted to $l00.-$l500.

I There were reports of excessive noise and the police were called to one apartment because of a party. When they arrived the students who were-having the party were nowhere to

be found.

In order to help students find accomodations the UPEI Student Services keeps and off-campus housing file. This file consists for the most part of room and board situations available in the Charlot- tetown area ranging from $30 to 50 per week. Many specify that the students be “quiet”people that neither smoke nor drink. There are several apartments and houses listed, ranging from

, 3.25017 350.3 month but .they

. A . ' air? .3 +1! ..f.: a i n v accomodate five upperclasSf' malorrty 9 'these are Open'

only to professors, as once

again, landlords are

reluctant to see their building tUrn into a miniature Animal House.

Is this discrimination against students to be allowed?

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