Utah Tech freshmen report housing crisis on campus – St. George News

ST. george – FFirst semester freshmen moved into house on the Utah Tech campus on Monday. The first students knew the university only by its new name.These new students came to St. George’s at a time when affordable community housing was difficult to find.

However, students are grateful for organized reservists and housing staff who work on the phone with students across the country to ensure a successful housing experience.

Riley Daines, a freshman from Meridian, Idaho, said he chose to live on campus because of the proximity to his classes. Daines said the distance from Meridian to St. George has not hindered the difficulty of finding housing.

“It wasn’t stressful at all,” he said. “It was easy.”

Another freshman from Whittier, California, received housing despite a delay in his application.

“It wasn’t too stressful. After I called, I basically got housing,” he said. “It was very relaxing.”

How did Utah Tech achieve such a smooth and “relaxed” housing delivery system?

Seth Gubler, Utah Tech’s assistant and director of housing, said teaching students how on-campus housing serves its purpose.

“We try to provide an educational experience where the student feels like she’s learning in the classroom and in campus housing,” says Gubler. “We believe there is more to our environment than just putting heads in beds.”

Gubler said concerns for student housing staff will help the overall check-in and occupancy process continue.

While currently on-campus rooms fill up within two months of opening, the university says it will do its best to extend housing invitations once a student is out of contract. Housing staff will personally call and email prospective students to notify them of housing openings.

“We still have some openings for this fall,” Gubler said. “We’re almost full, but there were two vacancies here last minute, so if a student came in today and said, ‘I need a house,’ we wouldn’t turn them away.”

When Gubler first started the position, the university had about 250 beds on campus. Now, Utah Tech has nearly 1,200. Freshmen take up 70% of campus beds and sophomores 19%, he said. On-campus rooms range from $375 to $475 per month for shared rooms and $600 for private rooms.

Gubler said he sees Utah Tech housing as an important part of the university’s educational mission. It aims to teach students how to communicate and resolve interpersonal conflicts using support from resident assistants and administrative insight.

“Students are uncomfortable with conflict management and communicating their needs to others,” Gubler said. “There are so many different lifestyles, expectations, backgrounds that come together in campus housing.

“In many cases, we believe that things can be fixed. We want you and your roommate to come together and talk through this. We want to have the tools to help you have a successful conversation. We need to talk about these concerns and give your roommate a chance to fix the problem.”

If a student is unwilling to resolve conflicts, whether or not they are in violation of housing laws, Gubler says, he still works with the student to find alternative housing options.

“We want to solve the situation from an educational point of view rather than punitive measures,” he said.

Utah Tech plans to demolish Neeson Towers, built in the 1970s, in spring 2023.

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