Residence Life updates Winter Break policies
Students will be able to stay in university-sponsored housing over Winter Break after all, RLH said in an email
Many students are expressing dissatisfaction with the housing selection process.
November 18, 2021
On Nov. 10, Residence Life and Housing (RLH) announced the reversal of its original decision regarding Winter Break housing. Now, students who need to stay in Winston-Salem for any reason can reside in university-sponsored housing.
The announcement followed a month-long period of deep concern for international students, many of whom are unable to go home between semesters. On Oct. 4, RLH announced it would be closing all residential facilities at the university over Winter Break, a reversal from its policy last year. On Oct. 28, the Old Gold & Black published a report by Mingxuan Zhu, Dexter Peters and Elena Marsh calling attention to the predicament of these students.
“Staying in a hotel or renting a house is not safe and not cheap,” Qianyue Zhang told the Old Gold & Black in the Oct. 28 article. “And besides, we do not have cars, so that is another big issue. We cannot go anywhere, and we have to take Uber, which is also very expensive.”
According to the email, students will now either be placed in double-occupancy hotel rooms or university-sponsored housing from Dec. 12-Jan. 8.
RLH said that student concerns were the driving force behind the change.
“Some students expressed frustration regarding housing options over Winter Break as the pandemic continues to affect travel plans, especially for international students,” RLH Associate Director of Operations Dr. Zachary Blackmon said. “[Students] raised important concerns about housing insecurity, travel difficulties and other personal considerations during this upcoming period.”
Students must apply to stay in university-sponsored housing over Winter Break by Nov. 21 at 11:59 p.m. Those approved will be charged $750, which, according to the email, is a similar rate as that charged to those who stayed on campus over Winter Break last year. Students can apply for financial aid to cover those costs, too.
“Our office is working with the Financial Aid team to review students requesting Winter Break housing who might have demonstrated financial need,” Blackmon said.
Blackmon continued: “Financial Aid staff will connect with those students to discuss what options might be available for support during the break period.”
University operations will also be limited throughout Winter Break so staff can also be afforded time off. More details on exactly what services will or will not be available are forthcoming, according to the email.
Khushi Arya, who was quoted in the Oct. 28 story, expressed mixed emotions about the policy change.
“I think it’s great that RLH decided to provide international students a housing option,” Arya said. “It’s still [bothersome] that it took all of this.”
Arya also credited the Oct. 28 article with implementing the change.
“This instance goes to show the power of journalism,” Arya said. “I am proud of [Zhu] for amplifying the voices of international students at Wake and advocating for change.”
Blackmon noted that a plan is in the works to ensure that RLH can provide Winter Break housing in future years so the apprehension experienced by current international students is a one-off experience.
“We do hope to incorporate Winter Break housing options into our regular planning for future years and will communicate more information about those options as our plans are finalized,” Blackmon said.
Rui Gao • Dec 2, 2021 at 6:38 pm
I am very confused by the title/subtitle of this article. It reads, as I accessed them on 12/2 : “Students will be able to stay on campus”. However, the texts states very clearly: “students will… be placed in double-occupancy hotel rooms or university-sponsored housing”.
It is hard to understand. Is there a hotel providing these double-occupancy rooms on our campus, or is university-sponsored housing on campus? Because from my understanding, the Reynolda Campus does not run a hotel; university-sponsored housing, given the inscrutability of its name, is usually used to refer to off-campus locations, such as Deacon Place, Crowne Apartments, or Deacon Station suites. Is the school providing new sponsored housings on campus? If so, why would it be called sponsored housing, but not university housing?
I think the factual situation is evident: there is a clear contradiction between the title of this article and its text. Students are still not allowed to stay on campus after all – if the “all” is not referring to the “future years” explained by Blackmon.
Arya, in this article, considers this update on policy as showing “the power of journalism”, and goes on to claim that “I am proud of [Zhu] for amplifying the voices of international students at Wake and advocating for change.” Indeed, Zhu is doing an amazing work here, nevertheless, the change international students advocated for is not here. It is not hard to see Qianyue Zhang’s key concerns in the 28th article is not addressed at all. A hotel room or a off-campus housing is not safe, and transportation issues remain unsolved. As a matter of fact, International scholars and Student Services (ISSS) has already posted a possible housing solution for international students in Best Western and a survey for winter housing even before the 28th article. From my perspective, not much has effectively changed from there to the latest update of RL&H.