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More than 120 Northern Arizona University students living in on-campus apartments had less than two weeks to move so the university could use their rooms to quarantine students exposed to COVID-19.
Following the notice, some students said they were confused and frustrated when they learned they had to move a month after settling into the semester and felt the university did not take their welfare into consideration or plan ahead adequately.
“Our well-being was not put into perspective nor was it heard out. We are now being forced out of our settled work environments and homes. Our compensation? $300 cash and an apology with moving boxes and people to help move us,” an online petition created in response said.
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Students living in Campus Heights Apartments received an email from University Housing on the night of Sept. 16 telling them they had to move from Sept. 25 through 27 to other campus housing for the remainder of the academic year, according to the email sharedwith The Arizona Republic by a student.
The email cited the university’s comprehensive plan for mitigating health and safety risks, including designated on-campus isolation and quarantine spaces.
“Housing positive and exposed students in temporary accommodations away from other residents helps our community slow the spread of COVID-19,” the email said.
University spokesperson Kimberly Ott said in an email to The Republic that Campus Heights will be used as quarantine space and that students who received an email make up 2% of students currently living on campus.
“We are making a limited number of adjustments to room assignments to accommodate space for individuals to quarantine only — and to ensure separation from other residents,” Ott said.
The email to students provided them with an apology and details about their new room assignment, an adjusted rent amount, a $300 cash refund for any inconvenience and first priority room selection for the 2021-22 academic year. The university also offered the help of professional movers at no cost.
“This was a decision that required careful thought, and arrived at after evaluating all possible options,” the email said. “Please understand that we are making this move with your wellbeing, and the wellbeing of your fellow Lumberjacks, in mind.”
Campus Heights is one of the few on-campus housing options with a private kitchen, a full-size stove and a full-size refrigerator, according to the housing website.
The sudden announcement has left some students frustrated, including Elisa Whitby and her roommate, Cayla Samson.
The pair created an online petition Sept. 17 asking others to voice their concerns by calling Residence Life. The petition had nearly 900 signatures as of Saturday.
Students moving out of Campus Heights into different housing will pay the same amount or lower for housing costs, according to Ott.
In the initial email she received, Whitby said she would be given a $200 reduction in housing costs for moving.
Campus Heights chosen due to ‘low occupancy’
Last year, Whitby said she had to move three times due to a “bad roommate” situation, but she didn’t think she would have to move again in her second year of school.
Whitby and her two roommates, who were living in a two-bedroom unit at Campus Heights, were initially reassigned to a one-bedroom option with a compact stove, which is “much smaller” than where they currently live, she said.
Samson, who is taking 17 credit hours this semester, said she was frustrated when she learned she would have to move.
In addition to moving amidst classes, Samson and Whitby said it would be difficult for all three to be in the same room since their other roommate works from home and they study from home. Whitby said she called housing on Sept. 17 and asked if there was another option available.
“The person I spoke with … she was like, ‘Well there’s nothing else, sorry,’ and then she hung up,” Whitby said. “It was a little frustrating. I was hoping someone else would speak up, but at the same time I was like, something needs to be done about this, something needs to be said.”
After the call, Whitby and Samson created the petition. It prompted a university housing director to contact Whitby, who she said provided some clarity and offered solutions.
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But Samson questioned whether more could have been done before the semester started to ensure the residents weren’t inconvenienced.
“They chose Campus Heights for its least amount of occupancy,” Samson said. “They were trying to find the least amount of students to uproot, which shows me that they didn’t have any plan set in place before everyone moved back.”
Campus Heights, also known as “iHouse,” typically houses about 130 international students, said Ott. But due to the pandemic and a “sharp” reduction of international students on campus, there are currently only 123 total students at Campus Heights, which is 58% of total capacity, according to Ott.
“As one of the lowest occupancy residence halls, the decision was made to move the students,” said Ott. “This created new quarantine space in one centralized location, which will assist us in better managing space for the health and safety of all campus residents.”
Though disruptive, this “proactive measure” is necessary, according to Ott.
As of Sept. 25, NAU said it was managing 226 COVID-19 cases of students on and off-campus, according to its coronavirus webpage.
Since Sept. 2, more than 8,500 tests have been administered, the website said. The NAU COVID-19 page does not reflect how many total COVID-19 cases there have been since the university started keeping track of cases.
Students question lack of dialogue
Since the first email, Whitby said she received better accommodations than they were initially given. She opted out of receiving help from movers and moved on Friday.
But before the email, Whitby said students were not consulted about the university’s plans to relocate students from Campus Heights.
“We hadn’t even been warned about it when we moved in, like, ‘Hey, you may have to move if something comes up,'” Whitby said. “We’re all settled in and now you’re asking us to move and you didn’t ask us before like, ‘Would it be okay if you guys are willing to move somewhere else?'”
However, the university website stated a number of apartments and suites will be held for isolation or quarantine space, adding that the university has held and will maintain “a number of quarantine and isolation spaces should an on-campus resident need to temporarily relocate during a quarantine or isolation period.”
Students did not have the opportunity to provide input before the email was sent, but were given options in the Sept. 16 email to start a “dialogue” with university housing staff for other alternatives if the ones initially provided were not acceptable, Ott said.
“University Housing had made numerous adjustments based on student requests to assign them to their preferred options, and will continue to do so prior to the move,” according to Ott, who added that some students moved out on their own the weekend of Sept. 19.
Students who were told to move also have the option to cancel their housing contract, but Ott said the university has not been informed of any students canceling.
If the university involved students in the decision beforehand, Whitby said she believes the process would have been smoother.
Reach the reporter at [email protected] or on Twitter @Audreyj101.
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