Everywhere you look on campus, you will see a crane or construction site. It honestly seems to never end. Even after being on campus for years, most graduates are likely to never experience the campus without something being under construction or changing.
With new and reconstructed dorms to brand new student apartments, the university is noticing a massive issue: unaffordability. Most dorms on the campus are overpriced for the space you receive. Freshmen are forced to buy a meal plan with their housing costs which means that it’s even more than expected.
Student apartments on campus are also expensive for what you receive. Taking a tour of Uncommon, your claustrophobic room can cost you up to $1200 a month. Housing is in a crisis, but when the housing on campus that is strictly for students is falling apart and into the same issue, when will it be time to address it?
Amenities are often bragged about, but their benefit is little to none considering that college students are typically studying or doing something that will help them relax. Students don’t find much pleasure in trying to use a lot of the amenities apartments offer and that they are forced to pay for..
A lot of students started to rent out houses and split rent. Their experiences have been very fun and engaging and they seem to find a lot of comfort doing that. However, students shouldn’t be able to find more affordable housing in an actual house than one offered by the university.
The university forcing students to move in and out every summer is an issue in itself. It’s unrealistic and chaotic. This is a situation that students would prefer to not have to do so they find more permanent situations.
With another student apartment being built by The Republic, Younion, and The Highlands apartments: when will things ever even out?
Spacing has become an issue. With new apartments being built, some students are being forced to live in hotel rooms until the building they are paying for is actually finished. An example of this was the “HERE Reno” apartments that opened earlier this fall.
With the rise of spacing issues and unaffordable housing, students are also beginning to have to fight for parking. Parking in most of their student apartments on campus is rare to none and if offered, if not protected. With parking passes being so expensive, students who live in student apartments ten minutes away are forced to walk to campus through dangerous routes everyday and night.
With these dangers in mind, the university is continuing to build more and more unaffordable housing. With luxury student apartments continuing to be built on Virginia St. when do we point out that we don’t need “luxury” but just stable conditions and a safe space for students to live and share?
The continued chaos with student living stresses out students and their families. Many families experience issues trying to find accommodations and make their students live in a safe space. Places like Canyon Flats is a very dangerous area to live in because it’s further from campus and in the beginning of downtown Reno. Throughout this year and last year, many students expressed feeling unsafe in these apartments and some have experienced very dangerous encounters.
The university’s plan to fix the space issue is to build more unaffordable housing. It’s not very helpful and causes students to feel more inclined to live in places outside of the university. If the university wants to make more money off student living, they should make it more accessible for students. This would allow them to generate more profit and give students a place to live that doesn’t fully break the bank.
Opinions expressed in The Nevada Sagebrush are solely those of the author and do not necessarily express the views of The Sagebrush or its staff. Gabriel Kanae is a student at the University of Nevada studying journalism. They can be reached at edrewes@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.
