In a September Instagram post, the University of Utah announced its next on-campus housing development. The response has been overwhelmingly negative.

From an outside perspective, this may be shocking, as most would assume that students would be excited for more on-campus opportunities.

Yet, this outcry is no surprise to the student body.

This new housing development further worsens the already existing parking problem. It also raises concerns about the U’s current unfinished housing project, the Epicenter and academic affairs.

The U seems to prioritize financial gain instead of actively addressing issues brought up by its students. To generate campus-wide support for this housing development, the U must listen to its student body and create resolutions that satisfy students’ concerns. 

The Persisting Parking Problem

As of 2023, 83% of students live off campus.

In the Instagram post unveiling the new housing developments, students living both on and off campus shared their concerns about the new parking problems this may cause.

These sentiments about the lack of parking are not new and have been conveyed across Instagram accounts dedicated to speaking out against the parking issue for years.

In an interview with Kayla Draper, a commuter student at the U, she revealed that she mostly takes Trax to get around. 

“I’d have to drive up here, and then I really don’t want to deal with parking,” she said.

Walking across campus, it’s easy to spot people going back and forth across parking lots, wasting gas and valuable time looking for a place to park. 

The new housing development only fuels the flame. These new dorms build over an already existing parking lot just south of Kahlert. Not only that: there have been no plans to replace that parking lot or create more parking spaces for students in these new dorms bringing their cars.

There are only plans to increase on-campus housing. This will only widen the gap between students with cars and the amount of parking lots on campus.

It seems the U is trying to get more money out of students by pressuring them to live on campus through making commuting more difficult. If it was actively listening to the concerns of students, there would be plans for more parking spaces or ideas for a system which allows more students in and out of the parking lots. Instead, it is pushing students to live on campus, causing them to pay for housing, meal plans and the other often costly expenses that come with living at the U.

Some suggest using public transportation or walking. This isn’t always a viable option, especially for individuals with mobility disabilities or women, who are often targets of harassment on public transportation. Even excluding these factors, public transportation can be untimely and unreliable.

The U must recognize this as an issue. Not every student can afford on-campus living. Though, it is important to note that the U is taking measures to address the parking issue on campus. These include encouraging students to park in less traditional parking places, such as on the outskirts of campus, and increasing parking pass prices. The hope of increasing parking pass prices is to encourage students to instead find alternatives to driving to campus.

The Unfinished Epicenter

With this new development, concerns were brought up about the Epicenter. Students living here have spoken out about the building still being under construction and express that there are many challenges living here that likely need to first be addressed before the U moves on to its next project. 

Hobie Hodlmair, a U student living at the Epicenter, said, “It is definitely a unique [housing complex] on campus, because it feels all like a hospital, like sterile.” 

Not only does the environment fail to feel welcoming, but Hodlmair said, “We’ll get a dumpster or … [a] crane by the window, and we’ll just hear a big crash and bang and wake up.” 

It’s clear to see the Epicenter fails to match up to the standards of other housing developments on campus.

Resolving the students’ concerns by prioritizing finishing the Epicenter would generate more support for the new housing development. It would reflect the U’s desire to better campus according to the students’ needs.

Academic Imbalance

The primary reason for this new development is the new admissions program that grant all students in Provo, Canyons, Granite and Davis school districts with a 3.5 GPA guaranteed admission to the U.

More students mean bigger class sizes and a larger student-to-teacher-ratio which can hinder learning.

Education should be the priority of the U, but it seems this is another fast cash-grab to optimize financial gain. The more students, the more money. It seems the U recognizes this. 

We have only seen snippets of a planto accommodate this influx of students in an academic setting, such as building more classrooms and hiring more staff members. However, it likely will not be enough to properly prepare for this large influx of students.

The response to the new housing development has been largely negative.

It is vital that the U makes choices that better reflect the students’ needs instead of one’s that seemingly act in the interest of the U’s wallet.

If the U does this, students will be more supportive of this project and attitudes on campus will be more positive overall.

c.hansen@dailyutahchronicle.com

@CharlotteH97333