UCLA Housing announced in a Sept. 13 email students in double occupancy rooms could have extra furniture removed after widespread student backlash.
The announcement came after a Sept. 9 email notified some students in doubles they would have a third set of furniture. According to the email, building capacity varies annually so dorms are meant to function as either a double or triple. In the past, students have made the best of their circumstances by finding creative uses for extra furniture, according to the email.
Hahna Song, a second-year psychobiology student, said because the lack of space in her previous triple was very restricting, she chose a double this year to try solving the problem. Her roommate, who slept on the top bunk, also often found it difficult to breathe, Song added.
Upon receiving UCLA Housing’s original email, Song said she was initially taken aback, adding that although it may have been difficult to take out furniture in buildings that were occupied over the summer sessions, UCLA Housing should have alerted Bruins about the potential issue sooner.
Adelle Yan, a second-year communication student, said she expected residents to be treated better, adding UCLA Housing should have notified students earlier.
“They did specify this as a possibility in the undergraduate housing contract,” Yan said. “I feel like this whole clause feels unreasonable because the school does have the means to make this right.”
Yan also expressed frustration with the tone of the Sept. 9 email, which she perceived as an attempt to put a positive spin on a negative situation. She said she circulated a petition which received more than 300 signatures within a day, calling on UCLA Housing to not only offer storage spaces for the extra furniture and reconfigure bunk beds into ground-level single beds, but also to issue a formal apology.
UCLA spokesperson Steve Montiel said in an emailed statement UCLA was not obligated to supply exactly two sets of furniture for double occupancy rooms. However, Montiel said they take critiques from residents to heart.
“We recognize that this decision caused stress for students and families as they prepared to move in to their housing, and moved quickly to address their concerns,” Montiel said in the statement. “We appreciate the feedback, which allowed us to reconsider the decision we made to maintain the residence hall furniture despite the change in occupancy.”
But Cameryn Tucker, a second-year linguistics and anthropology student, said she was skeptical any changes would be made, adding there’s no means of confirming how many rooms have or haven’t had their furniture removed.
“I have big issues with the way that UCLA is organized. … They’re not communicative, they have no type of transparency whatsoever,” Tucker said. “So I just have really low hopes when it comes to administration doing anything – I did not even think that they’re gonna take out the furniture.”
Although she was dissatisfied with UCLA’s process, Tucker said she’s glad they responded, adding she hopes the furniture removal happens in a timely manner.
“It makes me feel better about the school that I go to because I know a lot of schools – they don’t really listen to their students,” Song said. “I’m glad they were able to fix it relatively quickly.”
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