The hunt for off-campus housing is always stressful, but this is especially true for this upcoming year, as the university announced Sept. 28 that they do not anticipate available housing for rising juniors and seniors next year.
While we appreciate that the university wanted to give students a heads up as early as possible, they haven’t followed with adequate support for this process. With elimination of the position of Off-Campus Housing Director in 2011, students have generally been left adrift to manage locating available housing off-campus, how to finance it and how to best understand the rights and responsibilities that come with being a tenant.
Housing is a privilege. And navigating the system also is a privilege. Those with socioeconomic or familial privileges are the first to claim “better” and “safer” housing options, to come up with large amounts of cash required at lease signings and to prioritize places of residence that offer amenities, such as garages for cars or individualized bedrooms.
Even with regard to on-campus housing, there are grave negative impacts on students of color. A 2021 study from the University of Kansas indicated that residence halls “often mirror the racially segregated pre-college communities that police racial boundaries, reproduce insider/outsider dynamics and reify racialized meanings attached to space and place.” This is indicative of the importance of university support, especially for its students of color that are statistically susceptible to discriminatory experiences even while living on campus surrounded by peers. So when it comes to off-campus housing where students of color are further from certain safeguards and protections the university has to offer, St. Joe’s has an obligation to care for its students and guide them. Lack of university support particularly impacts students who are economically disadvantaged, international students, those who are unfamiliar with the Philadelphia area, students with disabilities and students of color.
Without the university to help guide them, students must learn their rights and responsibilities, and spread that knowledge to others. Before you agree to a lease and deposit funds to a landlord, it is crucial to be informed about your rights as a tenant. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, “the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, as amended (PHRA) protects against unlawful discrimination of individuals or groups on the basis of race, color, sex, familial status, religious creed, ancestry, age, national origin, handicap or disability, use of guide support animal because of blindness, deafness or physical handicap of the user or because the user is a handler or trainer of support or guide animals.” Discrimination during the housing application process is illegal and should be reported to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.
When it comes to selecting off-campus housing and the finances associated with that decision, students must also be mindful that although the monthly rent from houses and apartments may start at less than living on campus in residence halls, utilities and furniture will quickly rack up living expenses. If a roommate drops out or is unable to continue their studies, the added economic burden is absorbed by the other roommates, not by the university. Housing grants, often bundled with financial aid packages or specific scholarships, cannot be applied to off-campus housing.
As a Jesuit institution, St. Joe’s has the responsibility to recognize how the off-campus housing search can disproportionately impact students with marginalized identities and act accordingly. It must be diligent to ensure that all students are able to have comfortable and safe housing throughout their time at St. Joe’s.
