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 Edward Chiao
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If the University of California plans to endorse a new
California bill to give $15 million to the UC and the California
State University system to build affordable housing, it should take
into account that this money would be better spent subsidizing
student rent instead of building more housing.
While it would be ideal to provide funding to cover both student
housing and future housing development projects, the former must
take precedence. Building more student housing is a legitimate
long-term solution, but it is not the best one. Students need
relief now, and the $15 million would be better spent to subsidize
the cost of housing for students.
Students won’t feel the effects of more student housing
for years, and in some cases, building more housing is not a viable
option. At UC Berkeley and UCLA, real estate is at a premium, and
these campuses would stand to benefit the most from reduced housing
costs in the surrounding communities. At UCLA, the average cost of
an on-campus double is $7,782 per year, about 45 percent higher
than other top public universities around the country. And as of
last year, Westwood apartments have seen rent for single-bedroom
apartments go up by an average of 13.3 percent and doubles by 6.6
percent for each of the three previous years.
Students who want to live near campus are forced to pay the
increasing rent prices, and those who can’t are slowly being
driven out of Westwood, and in some cases, out of the UC system
completely. If the UC wants to keep these students, UC President
Richard Atkinson and the Board of Regents should get the state to
begin subsidizing housing.