Overflowing dorms leave students out

As College House administrator Elli Rupsis said in an article yesterday, "Most of the prime space is, at this point, gone" in on-campus housing. The University, it seems, has done too good a job of convincing students that returning to campus is the right way to go.

With the housing-selection process just gearing up, only about 30 singles remain available in Riepe and Ware college houses, and that's only after reserving spots for freshmen and intra-house room changes. The conditions are similar in the high rises, and many students will likely end up being stuck on a wait list with hundreds of others.

Many of those on the list, however, won't end up finding on-campus housing and will be forced to find a room off campus.

For now, Penn officials need to act quickly to ensure that students find the best living situations, and soon. On April 6, the Office of Off-Campus Living will be sponsoring its Annual Rental Housing Fair in Houston Hall. Considering the shortage of housing at the moment, OCL officials must work hard to ensure that as many landlords are represented as possible.

The fair could be a great opportunity to match up students with potential landlords and allow apartment hunters to be better aware of all the options available. To better assist students who are waiting for dorm spaces, the fair should be well-publicized -- especially to those students on waiting lists. OCL should also make a special effort in the month remaining before the fair to help students figure out their housing situations as soon as possible.

A better Web site wouldn't hurt, either.

While it's great that college house officials have been able to popularize on-campus living, they are threatening the future of Penn's dorm system if this overbooking continues.

Current freshmen who won't find a place will be forced off campus and likely won't return. In addition, their bad experiences this year will be shared with many other students and passed down to future classes, damaging the reputation of on-campus living.

In the long term, it seems the best solution is to simply construct more dormitory space.

With the development of the postal lands fast approaching, the University has the opportunity to move administrative and non-student-related offices, such as the Franklin Building, away from campus and replace them with dormitories.

Student housing belongs at the center of campus, or at least close to the center. And with such apparently high demand, Penn has a good reason to build it.

For the sake of students and the College House system, Penn must help students find a room quickly this year and make room for future classes down the road.

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