By Alli Dayton, Managing/News Editor
Last year, Director of Residential Education Danielle Phillips announced to Student Senate that the College decided not to renew off-campus leases due to decreasing student enrollment. She also cautioned students not to sign any off-campus leases in the future.
Now, students are taking action against this decision through a petition calling for the College to reinstate off-campus housing options.
The petition, created by Emily Seymour ’24, is available through a Google Form that opens with the statement, “This is a petition to fight for the opportunity to live off-campus as a senior at Gettysburg College. The removal of off-campus housing at this institution is sexist and unfair. I believe that off-campus housing is vital to the Gettysburg College experience and prepares college students for adulthood in a way that dorm life cannot.”
Seymour said that her decision to create the petition was spurred by her own desire to live off-campus with her friends. Additionally, she identified the value of independent living for college seniors.
She shared that in her opinion, “Off-campus housing prepares students to be able to communicate respectfully with a landlord, pay utility bills, and figure out to coexist peacefully in a home with others.”
Seymour noted that many students view the decision to remove off-campus housing options as unfair to certain groups.
“Men not involved in fraternities are upset that they are not receiving an equal opportunity to live in a home with their friends, as [are] women in sororities,” said Seymour.
Based on responses to the petition, the class of 2024 is particularly upset with the College’s choice.
“The class of 2024 feels extremely angered by the removal of off-campus housing because they chose this institution with, essentially, the promise of an opportunity to live off-campus as it has been a tradition here at this college for many years, and it was taken away,” noted Seymour.
Kevin Muhic ’24 explained, “Living off-campus was something I was looking forward to since I was a freshman. This decision strongly influenced my roommate’s decision to transfer.”
Further, Jackson Dino ’24 shared, “The College’s decision to prohibit upperclassmen off-campus housing is particularly damaging to student organizations. As Treasurer of the only off-campus fraternity, Alpha Chi Rho, we now have considerably fewer options in terms of housing in the future as a direct consequence of the new policy.”
Alumni have also expressed their discontent with the decision.
Seymour said, “Alumni have expressed feelings of sadness and compassion because current students are getting traditions that they loved taken away from them.”
The Gettysburgian previously reported on the experiences of alumni Chris Kohn ‘17 and Michael Moore ‘17 who purchased two properties in Gettysburg in 2020 and 2021 for Gettysburg College students to rent.
Kohn, Moore, and other alumni expressed their concerns to President Bob Iuliano last year about the removal of off-campus housing, but Kohn felt that their concerns were dismissed.
Kohn also worried about disruptions to the local economy due to the loss of work that landlords, cleaners, handymen, and other individuals will experience after off-campus housing is no longer available.
So far, Seymour’s petition has received 340 signatures, and the number continues to grow daily. Seymour is gathering additional signatures by hanging posters on campus that direct students, faculty, and alumni to the petition and by circulating the petition to student organizations like sororities.
Seymour said that she hopes her petition “inspires the administration to be open to a conversation about change.” She continued, “I want this petition to also work as an outlet for students, alumni, and parents to share their feelings and frustrations surrounding the removal of off-campus housing.”
Following up on her previous communication regarding the reduction of off-campus housing options, Phillips announced via email on Dec. 13 that the College plans to offer “very limited” off-campus housing for the 2023-2024 school year, due to an unexpected reduction in on-campus housing.
Phillips noted that the number of off-campus spots available to students will be smaller in the upcoming year than in previous years.
She explained that the College evaluates its ability to offer off-campus housing each year based on, “enrollment and the current number of residential spaces available.”
For students to qualify for off-campus housing, they must be rising seniors, have at least a 2.8 GPA, remain in good conduct standing, and complete the off-campus housing application.
Students who choose to apply for off-campus housing will be grouped with the other students they intend to live with, and they will be selected based on the average GPA of the group members.
Phillips concluded that additional information on the upcoming off-campus housing process will be released in February.
This article originally appeared on page 13 of the December 2022 edition of The Gettysburgian’s magazine.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated since original print publication to include the most recent communication about off-campus housing for the class of 2024 (- K. Oglesby).
