Every week the editorial board reflects on a current issue in Our View. The position taken does not reflect the opinions of everyone on the Hilltop Views staff. This week the editorial board is Viewpoints editors Gabrielle Wilkosz and Eleanor Fishbourne. 

As the year comes to a close, housing is one of the biggest issues plaguing everyone’s minds. And while looking for a new place can be exciting, for many St. Edward’s University students looking to live on campus next semester, housing is proving to be an unnecessarily stressful experience.

St. Edward’s on-campus housing is already completely full and many students still have no where to live. There is a waiting list, which would be helpful if there weren’t hundreds and hundreds of people on it. By the time you get into the 200s it seems highly unlikely that the school is going to be able to provide housing for you.

The obvious solution many might find is to live in an off-campus apartment. There are student apartment complexes around Austin, namely in the Riverside area, that have relatively affordable apartments and for some students it is a great option. But what about those who don’t have cars?

These students have no choice but to live on campus; otherwise, making it to class would be impossible. These more affordable complexes are generally a 10 minute drive or more away from school, so walking and cycling are hardly viable options. Apartment complexes on South Congress Avenue are extremely expensive, with some, like Berkshire Soco, nearing $2000 per month. For many students this just isn’t an option.

Although a lot of issues surrounding student housing are out of Residence Life’s control, there are some problems that can be fixed.

To begin, Residence Life should invest in a bug-free electronic housing system. The system St. Edward’s has right now is not only confusing for new users (and most students applying for on-campus housing will be new users since they are freshman) but it is also unfair. Students can only choose one other person to room with at a time. Also, with the click of a single button, students can easily skip the waitlist section and then not be able to go back and change their housing option.

Another way Residence Life can make on-campus housing less unnecessarily stressful is by sponsoring off-campus housing.

The 21 Rio apartments seemed to be Residence Life’s solution to this problem, yet living there is unrealistic for many students. A number of apartments were set aside by 21 Rio for St. Edward’s students to live in per a deal made with the school. This sounded like a great solution to the overflow issue, except for the fact that you had to apply for them last semester which doesn’t solve the issues presented right now. Plus the complex is on University of Texas’ campus — putting it at about a 20 minute drive away. Even with the addition of these apartments, St. Edward’s still doesn’t have enough room for it’s residents.

For sophomores who want to live close, but can’t because there is not enough housing, Residence Life can allocate some of their budget to buy students semester-long bus passes. For students ultimately forced off campus because of the lack of accommodations, this small perk won’t make up all the difference, but could at least help some.