by Ione Dellos
If you are on campus this semester to physically pick up this copy of the Lumberjack, then you know how rough the housing market is in Humboldt. On-campus housing is at capacity for the 2022-2023 academic year, leaving students hard-pressed to find housing elsewhere.
The solution our glorious polytechnic has come up with for solving the housing crisis includes housing students at the Comfort Inn in Arcata, where the familiar “HOUSING MOVE-IN” signs can be seen planted outside… the Patriot gas station on Giuntoli? For incoming students, will moving them into a hotel for the year really give them the classic Humboldt experience? How will they go on a campus tour to the woods at 10 pm to engage in some completely legal activities in the forest? Will they still be able to experience the joy of traversing half a mile every morning from their dorm to the JGC for some subpar tater tots for breakfast?
There’s the additional hardship of inexperience in finding housing among the college age demographic, as this is many people’s first time leaving home, or really living on their own. I was just living on campus last semester and eating donuts from the J for breakfast every morning, now I’m expected to magically be responsible enough to get an apartment? If you don’t have previous rental experience, you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, and there are some predatory property management companies in Humboldt that capitalize on that. With the reality of mainly in-person classes for this school year, the pressure to find housing near campus is on like never before.
Don’t even get me started on owning furniture! You will never realize how expensive a couch is until you have to buy one for yourself. Tables are also very expensive, but I could talk about how expensive furniture is all day. When hunting for housing, furniture is the least of your worries. Having an actual apartment to put it all in is priority number one, and with the aforementioned problems with the Humboldt housing market, it can be a tall task to tackle.
There are some helpful resources that the university does provide, like the off-campus housing liaison, who provides one-on-one support and advice to help you on your journey to find housing. Also, in case you abruptly lose housing or cannot find any in time, Humboldt does provide the Emergency Housing Program. This program is subject to availability, and they can be reached at dos@humboldt.edu.
Now, this isn’t supposed to be all doom and gloom. While it can feel impossible at times to find housing, it will only feel that way for a while. With the help of another roommate to scream with when the third property management company you’ve reached out to doesn’t get back to you, a few co-signers to make up for that 750-point credit score you do not have at twenty years old, and a small miracle, you too can find housing!
