Nearly 400 students will remain in their current residence hall rooms next academic year as part of a new housing program that allows residents to renew their existing assignment.
The room renewal program, which officials announced in February, allowed students living in upperclassman housing for the 2022-23 academic year to reserve their current room for the next year instead of reapplying each year, as in previous years. Students who used the room renewal program said it eased the stresses of the housing selection process, but other students said the process might have limited options for students looking to move into more sought-after residence halls.
Seth Weinshel, the associate vice president for business services, said officials created the program to give students who liked their current assignment the opportunity to remain in the same room.
“Each year we look for ways to make the assignment process better,” Weinshel said in an email. “Many students like the rooms that they are assigned, and we wanted to provide them the ability to stay where they are.”
Weinshel declined to say how many rooms were renewed in each residence hall.
More than half a dozen students who renewed rooms in District House and South and Amsterdam halls said they appreciated the room renewal program, which eased the stress of the housing application process as they renewed their rooms.
Dylan Lyman, a sophomore majoring in international affairs who currently lives in District House, said he renewed his room because of District House’s location and modern atmosphere. He said he opted to renew to avoid risking a random housing assignment in a residence hall where did not wish to live.
“It’s better than rolling the dice and possibly ending up in Lafayette or JBKO,” he said.
Kiera Sona, a junior majoring in political science who currently lives in South Hall, said room renewal reduced the stress and disappointment she usually faced when receiving housing assignments that were not her first choice.
“It made it so much less stressful,” Sona said. “Every year that I’ve applied for housing, I’ve never got the dorm that I wanted. So it worked out this year.”
Gabriel Young, a junior majoring in political science who currently lives in Amsterdam Hall, said he and his roommates decided to renew their four-person unit because they liked living together and wanted a convenient transition into the upcoming year. He said the program “alleviated a lot of anxiety” because it allowed him to maintain consistency in his living habits.
“I know where my classes are,” Young said. “I know how far it gets to places. Everything I bought or we bought, we know where to put it again for next year. So it’s just really comfortable knowing that.”
Three students said they felt room renewal hurt their chances of getting their top choice when applying for housing.
Christine Yared, a freshman majoring in political science and communications currently living in Madison Hall, said she felt room renewal prevented her from receiving an assignment in South Hall, where a four- to five-person suite would have satisfied her Disability Support Services accommodations. She said she was placed in Shenkman Hall instead, which she speculated was because of the high number of South Hall residents who renewed their rooms.
Weinshel wrote in an email to one parent, which was obtained by The Hatchet, that at least one resident had renewed their assignment in each of South Hall’s five-person units, which prevents new groups of five students from moving into those units next year.
“Because of room renewal, every single dorm by the time they gave me my accommodations already had one person assigned to it, and so they couldn’t really grant me the accommodations I needed because of room renewal,” Yared said.
Yared said while she felt room renewal was beneficial “in theory,” she felt GW had not made proper considerations for guaranteeing disabled students housing. She said Shenkman Hall lacks single suite-style housing similar to South Hall, and living in the building’s two- and four-person units would be “difficult” for her without her desired accommodations – an issue she feels could have been avoided without room renewal.
“I can survive in a different dorm, but I shouldn’t have to, and it makes my life a lot more difficult,” Yared said.
Lindsay Larson, a freshman majoring in political affairs currently living in Somers Hall, said she also applied to live in a four-person unit with her friends in Amsterdam Hall, but her housing group was split into two separate doubles in JKBO Hall. Larson said she thinks room renewal negatively impacted her ability to get her top choice because she speculated many students renewed their rooms in “nicer” residence halls, like Shenkman or South halls.
“As someone who feels like they were kind of burned by room renewal, it’s definitely frustrating to see other people getting to live in the dorm that you wanted,” Larson said.
Tara Suter and Zach Blackburn contributed reporting.
