Trella Schlutsmeyer said when she noticed so many BYUH students planning to live in tents and cars if they didn’t get housing, she made a Facebook group to help them coordinate their living situations. The group, called Unofficial BYUH Tent City, boasts more than 180 members. She said the purpose of the group was to create a community for students without housing to safely camp on campus.
Not having housing for the Fall made Schlutsmeyer, a junior from California studying art education, anxious for the safety of herself and other students going through the same thing. She said she and a friend were debating about buying a van to live in on the streets the night before she made the Facebook group.
“I had anxiety all that night, and I woke up and said, ‘Alright that’s it. I’ve got to do something. That’s how BYUH Tent City was born,” she said.
BYUH Assistant to the President Laura Tevaga, who is also the director of communication and marketing, said “We’re doing everything we can to make sure everybody has a place.” Then she added, “We advise against living in vans and in tents. It’s not allowed, by the state nor by us.”
Housing in Hawaii
Tevaga explained BYUH housing has always been “tight.” The combination of so many students needing to come back at once, a lack of landlords who will rent to students and a general housing shortage in Hawaii, she said the school is in a unique residential conundrum.
We advise against living in vans and in tents. It’s not allowed, by the state nor by us.
“We have those things, along with COVID-19, that have made this a perfect storm for an already extra-tight housing situation,” Tevaga said.
One thing that can be done to improve the situation is the number of landlords who will rent to students. Tevaga explained there are many private landlords who usually rent to students, but when all the students left in 2020, they chose to rent to local families or students from other universities studying online, which means there are fewer places to live off-campus. “We’re actively trying to find more landlords to offer housing to our students,” said Tevaga.
According to Hanna Biesinger, senior manager of Housing and Residential Life, the Housing Office has been hunting for landlords willing to house students since March and continues to do so.
Tevaga said the Housing Office has encouraged BYUH employees to offer housing and are converting some available faculty housing to temporarily house single students as well.
She refuted rumors the vaccine mandate or an over-admission rate affected the present housing situation. “The vaccine mandate has nothing to do with housing,” she said.
Additionally, she explained BYUH admitted the same amount of people it has in previous years to keep the student cap at 3,200. “We didn’t admit more students. We’re exactly the same as we were pre-COVID-19,” she added.
Steps to take
Biesinger suggests three action plans for students who need housing:
1. Sign up for one of the on-campus housing wait lists
2. Look for housing outside of Laie
3. Defer enrollment until the Winter 2022 Semester
Tevaga added, “We haven’t had a year where we’ve had this many people come back at once.” She said normally, people come and go at different times, creating a natural fluctuation of housing availability, but it’s different this Fall. “To have everybody looking at once [makes it seem] like it’s a bigger problem.”
She said she expects housing patterns will gradually normalize and students who need housing will be able to find it as time progresses towards the Winter 2022 Semester.
Schlutsmeyer said deferring until Winter 2022 isn’t an option she wants to choose. She said after staying at home for over a year, she wants to continue her education so she can get married, start her career and stop relying on her parents. That is why she was willing to come back for school and be homeless, she said. “I’m ready to go back, and I don’t want to keep waiting.”
Students who join the wait list can expect to hear from housing when accommodations are available. Many students, according to the University’s housing website, will be moved into temporary on-campus housing.
Tevaga explained the school is creating temporary housing in the hale lounges and other similar spaces on campus until new options become available.
She said campuses often come up with empty spots when students choose not to come.
Students who are in temporary housing will be on stand-by to fill those spots. This is a practice many universities practice, and one BYUH has employed in the past, Tevaga explained.
Looking forward
The school has been working to create more housing for years, explained Tevaga, and workers are currently constructing new places for single and married students to live.
“Things move a lot slower here,” she said. “But over the next few years, there will be additional available housing.”
She lamented the buildings are not yet finished to help the current problem, but she says every semester there should be additional spaces that will give the housing team and students living on campus some “extra breathing room.”
Despite a rocky start getting everyone on the island, Biesinger said Housing and Residential Life is thrilled to welcome new and returning students.
“We are so excited to welcome our students back to campus and return to some normalcy. … Living in BYUH housing cannot be beaten in terms of diversity and inclusivity of all, and we look forward to building lasting relationships with our residents.” •