It’s Time UNR Does Something About The Lack Of Affordable Housing Options

Editor’s Note: This op-ed was written and published by Jaedyn Young, a staff member on the Nevada Sagebrush, as well as Wyatt Layland and Benedict Nagy, two students at the university. Opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily express the views of The Nevada Sagebrush or its staff.

There is a reason the term “broke college students” was coined as a regular description for students across the country. 

The University of Nevada, Reno is no exception to this stigma. Attending this university has been the “break to our bank” in a nutshell.

Students are already paying thousands of dollars to go to this school. We’re paying hundreds for meal plans or groceries, hundreds to park on the university campus, hundreds to buy textbooks for our classes and even a wounding $95 to pay for our own graduation ceremony. Why should we have to pay even more to be housed?

Not to mention, paying thousands of dollars to be housed on or off-campus in an apartment, house or dorm that’s not at all up to par on quality that college students should deserve.

I have put time and effort into the research behind this. It is not just a crisis in Reno. We have seen in multiple journalistic articles from the Washington Post, Bloomberg and LA Times talking about this lack of affordable student housing.

We’ve also seen in scholarly articles like, “When Students Are House-Poor: Urban Universities, Student Marginality, and the Hidden Curriculum of Student Housing” where educated people are urging universities to hear the students out. The biggest problem that needs to be solved before affordable housing is solved is convincing universities to listen to their students.

Universities are not listening. 

Publications representing our local city such as Our Town Reno, the Reynolds Sandbox, KUNR, and the Reno Gazette-Journal have all written plenty of housing articles, strictly student-based, where they speak on the problems and tell the stories of students at UNR. 

And yet, there is no movement for change. Why is that UNR? 

Hence, the creation of BASH Reno. 

We’re three English students who started this initiative simply as a school project. After listening to students describe their housing experiences via our Google Survey and interview, we realized this could be something real. However, we can only bring change with your help.

We want to bring awareness to the need for more affordable student housing options at UNR and in Reno. We aim to Bring Affordable Student Housing (BASH) which means starting off with shouting for our wants and needs until the university opens their ears and actually listens to us.

Tell us your stories, give us your ideas for change and show us what you need. We’re here to listen.

Trust us, we’re students struggling with finding affordable housing, just like you. 

Originally published in the Nevada Sagebrush.