The A.S. Council passed a resolution in support of on-campus housing for transfer students at its May 28 meeting. The resolution calls upon the university “”to expedite the construction of transfer housing projects”” and affirms the council’s “”support of granting transfer students a guaranteed housing agreement as soon as possible.””
The resolution passed 16-3-0.
Viet Tran, chair of the Transfer Re-entry Student Organization at Thurgood Marshall College, authored the resolution in response to the delay of the construction of the North Campus Housing project.
The project was slated to begin in Winter 2004, but building will not begin until Summer 2004. With the quarter-long delay, estimated completion of the project was pushed back from 2005 to 2007, according to Tran.
“”[Two years] is like a generation of transfer students,”” Tran said.
Debate on the council floor focused mainly on the wording of the resolution.
At one point, Commissioner of Enterprise Operations Jeremy Cogan pointed out that by endorsing the fast construction of transfer housing, the council may be running contrary to its recent efforts to slow the loss of undergraduate parking spaces to construction.
Marshall Senior Senator Sierra Catcott argued that since the resolution does not specifically mention the North Campus Housing project, the spirit of the resolution does not violate previous A.S. resolutions.
“”I don’t want to make it look like it’s either transfer housing or parking,”” Tran said. “”My stance is that if they’re going to push building back half a year. The resolution is to expedite that project so it can be finished on time or, at the very least, one year late.””
Tran also pointed out that transfer students make up an increasing fraction of the undergraduate population. Transfer students represented 26 percent of the 2002 incoming class.
“”That’s a big population that is underrepresented and does not have a voice on this campus,”” Tran said. “”We’re trying to increase that voice so more people can pay more attention to our cause.””
Eleanor Roosevelt College Senior Senator Jordan Rosenfeld submitted the resolution as an item of immediate consideration for the council.
Rosenfeld, himself a transfer student, said that he would have loved the opportunity to live on-campus.
“”What is it about transfer students that makes us more capable to live off-campus than other students?”” Rosenfeld said.
The resolution states that “”many transfer students are at a disadvantage when seeking housing because of their lack of ability to view their housing option prior to signing a contract.””
Other items of concern listed in the resolution include the competitive nature of the off-campus housing market in La Jolla, the opinion that on-campus housing “”eases the acclimation of transfer students to UCSD,”” and that transfer students are “”unable to experience the sense of community gained through living on-campus with their peers.””
