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Administration’s turn to step-up
In order for college students to feel a sense of unity, we need a place to call our own. We need to be able to have something in which we can share and experience collectively outside of our experiences during class hours.
With limited space already allocated for students at UMD, and a potential 300-foot rental zoning law, living for students is continually becoming separated. On-campus living, as of right now, is finite until more buildings are built for students to live in. The current issue is, as students are choosing to live off campus in rental houses, they may very well lose their houses or be forced to move due to new zoning laws the city has proposed.
Why haven’t we heard anything from campus officials addressing this issue and discussing the matter with students? The reason might be because the administration doesn’t seem to have recognized the issue as a large enough problem to take action with the city and discuss future negotiations or student-housing possibilities. While students are worrying about where they’re going to live next year and if the new zoning laws will affect their houses or not, the administration seems to have deaf ears.
Now would be an opportune time for the administration to begin planning with the city to allocate student-housing communities or zones as well as designing a plan for future housing which will allow for a campus community. Many students no longer wish to cross College Street and feel like they’re in someone else’s community. Even some professors have mentioned how they do not want to have to deal with college students partying down the street. With this tension between the students and the community, it is time for someone to step in. We don’t want to buy and rent houses in someone else’s backyard, and from the recent community discussion of student housing, they don’t want us there either. Because of this, we need the administration to start taking this into consideration.
As long as UMD continues to grow, students will need a place to live. Right now, students are getting by and finding places to live away from campus, but what will it be like in five years? Ten years? Will there be enough space either on campus or around campus for students to live close by? This is something UMD needs to address, as well as concentrate on developing a plan with both the community of Duluth and the students in mind.
As students, we choose to come to Duluth for schooling, but along with education comes other necessities, such as housing. While the student population continues to grow, there will need to be more space allocated for those students. Without proper preparation and planning, students could be left struggling to find housing as well as potentially choosing other schools. It is the job of the administration to join with the students and the community to solve this problem.
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