Student Opinions to Fall 2021 Campus Housing Updates

Bella Nieto, News Editor

Despite the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, UTSA is again offering on-campus living options for students in the 2021-22 academic year. 

To continue its commitment to provide a safe learning, working and living environment for the UTSA community, Housing and Residence Life continues to take precautions regarding the public health mandates and precedents of the university. 

UTSA also plans to add two more on-campus living facilities for the upcoming fall semester. The first, Guadalupe Hall, for the Honors Residential Community, is set to be open next semester. The property previously owned by Campus Living Villages, Chisholm Hall, is now owned by the university. The university has no guaranteed building, units, rooms, etc. at this time; however, the university has mentioned that the new Guadalupe Hall will have a cluster of double-occupancy bedrooms with shared restroom facilities. 

Some students have contradicting opinions about the management of on-campus housing by the university. Freshman political science major Britney Opara mentions her discontent with the cost. “My least favorite thing about living on campus is for sure the cost,” Opara said. “One suggestion I have for administration is consider changing the price, we are broke college kids after all.” Still, Opara has few reservations about UTSA’s expansion of its on campus housing. “I can’t really complain,” Opara said. “Stuff breaks a lot, but maintenance is really quick to fix it, but I would say if they want to build new ones they should ensure they have the funds to not charge others more.”

Freshman psychology major Illiana Zamora expressed discontent about the conditions of the dorms and the future of the new ones. “The room itself is a prime example of ‘you get what you pay for’ and not in a good way,” Zamora said. “Some of UTSA’s dorms are viable, but others should be knocked down and rebuilt.” Questions still remain about the university’s competency to handle the facilities. “There is a chance UTSA can just have one building that is super nice and updated and ones that are lackluster and to me that’s not fair,” Zamora furthered. “As students we pay for a campus that accommodates us- not the other way around, so if the university builds a new housing campus, they can’t forget about the ones they are already responsible for.”