Thursday, October 6, 2011

STUDENT HOUSING FORUM - TODAY AT 7PM

Please join us for a Student Housing Forum this Thursday, October 6, from 7 to 8 PM for Family Housing students, and 8:30 to 9:30 PM for San Clemente Students. We will meet in the Storke Family Housing Community Center for both meetings. Enjoy free appetizers and sweets!

What is this about?
Since last spring, GSA has received various concerns and some great suggestions for change, relevant to both our Family Student Housing and San Clemente Single Student Housing communities. For example, a chief concern raised by San Clemente residents and former residents is the unfavorable contract timing, such that students must pay double rent during the month they must move out. Other concerns relate to the selection process for roommates, sub-leasing fees, and rising costs for maintenance repairs. Examples of student concerns in Family Housing include grappling with a long wait list, having a 6 year residency limit when some grad programs extend for 7 to 8 years, and concerns about the quality of Family Housing apartments.

What will GSA do about these concerns?
GSA is committed to a four phase collaborative undertaking to address student concerns about campus housing.
· The 1st phase entails community dialog on October 8th and via Google forum to engender a more in-depth understanding of student housing needs.
· The 2nd phase includes a GSA assessment of the needs identified by students, and will yield a more focused and narrow list of student requests concerning housing.
· The 3rd phase is marked by GSA hosting information Panels and organizing meetings with campus officials to present student requests, and promote positive response to those requests.
· The 4th phase entails GSA meeting with students later this year to report on success and additional action items, as needed.
I Can't attend this Thursday's meeting, what else can I do?
GSA will host a Google Online Forum, which will be made live following this Thursday's meeting with students at the Storke Community Center. Wei Tang, VP of Student Affairs, is the lead information officer for matters concerning housing and can be contacted at anytime via email at gsavpcomm.ucsb@gmail.com. Conversations may also be held with the Diana Dyste Anzures, President of GSA. To set up appointments, please email Diana at gsapresident.ucsb@gmail.com.

Sincerely,
GSA Executive Committee