Designating rooms in the Sheraton University Hotel and Conference Center for student housing during the 2013-14 school year reflects the lack of needed space Syracuse University has to accommodate its students.

To provide a concrete solution rather than a temporary fix, the university ultimately has two options: begin accepting fewer applicants to SU or create more legitimate, sustainable student housing.

This is a short-term solution to a consistent issue. It is clear the university has enrolled more students than it is capable of housing in designated residence halls. SU has not done enough effective planning to create a long-term fix to an issue that is not coming up for the first time.

The university-owned hotel was used for student housing during the 2011-12 academic year, but was not used this year. This year, students who have not fulfilled their two-year housing requirement have the option of choosing the Sheraton once again.

Though the housing option is somewhat popular with students, living in a hotel does not allow students to participate in valuable, underclassman residence hall experiences.

Housing students in the Sheraton limits the number of people the hotel can accommodate, especially during large events like Family Weekend. Students, while well-behaved in the past, could also be a disturbance to paying patrons.

Accepting fewer students in incoming classes is a less expensive option for preventing this issue while also increasing competition to get into the university. If this approach is not desired by the administration, the university should take advantage of unused spaces on campus to create more housing options.

Building a brand new housing facility would be both timely and costly. But the vacant dining hall in Haven Hall is a space that could be possibly converted into more residence hall space.

Placing students in a legitimate residence hall or apartment if they still need to fulfill their two-year housing requirements should be a priority for the university. Housing students in these locations should be of greater importance than housing upperclassmen who have the ability to seek other options.

By utilizing a hotel as a housing option, SU is dancing around a choice that needs to be made as a long-term solution to provide a better campus living situation for students.

Published on March 25, 2013 at 2:30 am

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