Eighteen juniors returning from study abroad are living in temporary housing while awaiting permanent on-campus housing assignments this semester. Another approximately 40 juniors returning from study abroad were granted off-campus housing permission for the spring semester, even though the Office of Residential Life policy revokes off-campus housing privileges for students studying abroad in the fall semester.
Juniors returning from abroad for the spring semester last year were given permanent housing in Metcalf Hall and Miller Hall, both of which had just undergone major renovation projects, said Richard Hilton, associate director of Residential Life. But this year Metcalf and Miller are serving as first-year residence halls, relegating many returning students to temporary or off-campus arrangements.
All the juniors returning from abroad last spring were also given singles, The Herald reported at the time.
Some juniors were placed in temporary housing two years ago, though the total is higher this year, Hilton said.
ResLife anticipates moving juniors out of temporary housing in two to three weeks as rooms open up, Hilton said. Students may vacate their rooms due to leaves of absence or Student and Employee Accessibility Services accommodations, freeing up space, he said.
“For every student in temporary housing, we offer assistance to move into a new room,” Hilton said.
All students returning from abroad this semester were granted off-campus housing permission if requested, Hilton said.
After studying in Budapest, Hungary, during the fall semester, Ben Siranosian ’15 found that he had been assigned to a double room with two other roommates in Goddard House for the spring semester.
Siranosian said he received permission to live off campus after repeated attempts to get in touch with ResLife.
Since ResLife does not normally allow students to live off campus in the spring after spending fall semester abroad, “living off campus is the best thing that could have happened,” Siranosian said.
But Siranosian said some of his friends were placed in triples. “I was disappointed in the way Brown treats people who come back from abroad,” he said.
The majority of juniors in temporary housing were placed on Vartan Gregorian Quadrangle and Wriston Quadrangle, Hilton said. Many of these temporary dorm rooms were converted from lounges and kitchens.
The dorm room conversions involved replacing furniture and covering up glass panes in the lounge doors to give students privacy, Hilton said. But all the kitchen appliances were left in place in the rooms. “Some students in past years liked having a private kitchen,” Hilton said.
Once ResLife finds permanent housing arrangements for students in temporary housing, the rooms will be reconverted into lounges, he said.
When Jonathan Nicholas ’15 returned from studying in London, he was placed in a lounge converted into a triple in the basement of Diman House.
“When I found out I was being placed in temporary housing as a junior, I wasn’t super happy about it,” Nicholas said.
His two roommates were granted off-campus housing last Wednesday, so he now has the room to himself, Nicholas said. “It’s nice because I have a giant 550-square-foot room with a kitchen, but it’s up in the air,” he said. Nicholas has left the majority of his belongings in his car, awaiting his permanent housing assignment.
“The most frustrating part is not being able to set up in a permanent situation,” Nicholas said. “I have no idea where I’m going to be living this semester.”
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