Students living in on-campus supplemental housing since the beginning of the semester are now being offered contracts by University Housing and Dining to move into their permanent residences, but some students say they don’t want to move. 

Supplemental housing is given to students as a temporary accommodation until residence halls have dorm rooms available for them to move into, according to UHD.

The supplemental housing experience for students in San Jacinto Residence Hall has caused students like biology freshman Shreia Sunderamoorthi to want to stay in their temporary spaces. 

Sunderamoorthi said she expected the room to be uncomfortable but was pleasantly surprised when she found that supplemental housing in San Jacinto was a better experience than most. She, along with others, is trying to work with UHD to keep her housing arrangement for the rest of the semester. 

“I fought (moving) for a long time. Honestly, I think I’m still fighting a little bit,” Sunderamoorthi said. “I think they told me a few weeks ago that we’d have to move, but initially they told us that we could stay if we wanted. So I’ve been kind of conflicted trying to tell them I don’t want to move, but I don’t know if it’s going to work out.” 

Justin Jaskowiak, director for apartments, occupancy and conferences for UHD, said the goal is for all students in supplemental housing to be moved into permanent housing as soon as possible. He said residents in supplemental housing at San Jacinto typically receive priority for moving into permanent housing because the residence hall is the only one open to students who want to stay for winter break. Jaskowiak said they need as much space as possible to be able to accommodate those students. 

Biochemistry freshman Manahil Gilani said she was told in July she’d be staying in supplemental housing in San Jacinto. Gilani said, despite being hesitant at first, she is pleased with the space her supplemental dorm room offers and does not want to move. 

“(I have been) trying to fight (moving),” Gilani said. “It’s been hard though, because (UHD is) really cryptic in their emails, and it’s hard to contact them.”  

Jaskowiak said UHD is willing to work with students moving out of supplemental housing, as they understand the process is coming at a time in the middle of the school year.

“Once they’ve selected their room, our process is to ask them to move within three days,” Jaskowiak said. “We’ll work with students if they’re in a position where it’s like, ‘Yes, I really want this room but I’m out of town this week’ or whatever might be going on. We would work with them if they shared that information with us.”