Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on Lyndon’s “The Critic.” For more information and relevant links, see the original piece here: Summer Housing Price Increase, Students React – The Critic – Residential Life (nvulyndoncritic.com)

Summer housing applications have already opened for the 2024 summer housing season. However, there are some changes to how summer housing will work this year, including the cost of living on campus.

To be eligible for summer housing, you must be a full-time student in the Fall 2024 semester at VTSU. You do not need to take classes or any internship credits to live on campus during the summer. People may need summer housing for many reasons. For me, I needed it because I physically had nowhere else to go. For others, they had jobs nearby that provided much-needed income while there weren’t any classes. Either way, there are several students who need to live here over the summer. The only option for summer housing on the Lyndon campus is Rita Bole, which includes six single rooms, two bathrooms, and a small kitchen for students to cook in. All cleaning and cooking must be done by the students.

The New Cost

There is a $100 price increase for the summer housing at Lyndon. The price per week this summer will be $175, making the cost for a month of housing $700.

Last summer, it only cost $300 per month to live on campus. Overall, staying on campus for the entire 14 weeks of summer last year only cost $1,050. This year, that number looks more like $2,450, more than double the cost of summer housing last year.
“As someone who stays here every summer, over every break, to find out the cost of living this summer is going to be more than double was quite concerning and frustrating,” said Ryder Klager, a second-year student at VTSU – Lyndon. This increase in the cost of Summer housing is the same for students on the Johnson campus.

How Much Will Students Make?

Another issue that students can see with summer housing being increased is the lack of summer job opportunities for students.
The maximum number of hours a student worker can work in a week is 37 and a half. Some jobs on campus pay $15 an hour, so for those who are fortunate enough to even find enough work to get 37.5 hours a week, the maximum they can earn in one pay period is $1,125. This is $2,250 per month, before taxes.

Again, this is only if a student is fortunate enough to get an on-campus job that pays $15 an hour and can offer nearly full-time hours. There are not many jobs, if any at all, that can do this. It is more than likely that a student could possibly expect a paycheck closer to $720 bi-weekly, leaving significantly less wiggle room financially – a far cry from making three times the amount of your rent. This kind of paycheck would also be a stretch for many students.

“It is very concerning being worried about what I am going to do to support myself when I don’t have other options for where I can go or what I can do,” said Ryder Klager, whose only option is to get on-campus jobs.

Author’s Note: When asked for a comment on why this summer housing price increase was made and who finalized the decision, VTSU Residential Life did not respond.