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UMaine’s housing crisis is taking a toll on incoming and current students

The University of Maine campus is failing to house new students and meet the needs of current students for improved housing accommodations. Current on-campus housing options are limited, and the influx of first-year students disrupts the long-overdue need for increased housing.

According to the University of Maine System (UMS), “UMS will start the new academic year with its highest enrollment since 2021 as a result of region-leading affordability and new initiatives to advance student access and outcomes.”

It seems that these “new initiatives to advance student access and outcomes” for the 2024-25 academic year do not include improving or expanding on-campus housing.

UMaine’s requirement of having first-year students live on campus subjects new students to undesirable housing conditions and pressures other students into finding off-campus accommodations. Incoming students could apply to waive the on-campus requirement, but even that exemption is only granted if they meet certain criteria.

As a second-year out-of-state student, securing a designated break housing residence hall is competitive enough, but finding off-campus housing that is in close proximity to the University iseven more challenging. This advised option of turning to off-campus accommodations is a problem, not a solution.

 University’s current solutions, while helpful in some regard, are temporary fixes that are at the expense of other students. Currently, common areas in residence halls have been turned into makeshift dorms while other students have been temporarily housed in UMaine’s Hotel Ursa or the Orchard Trails apartment complex, an off-campus option.

Knox Hall, a current freshman residence hall, is just one of the many first-year designated dormitories that has converted its common areas into temporary double and even triple-room dorms. Other double-room dorms have also been turned into triples.

As someone who used to reside in Knox Hall during my freshman year, the common areas are in no way, shape or form suitable as a long-term room. Taking away the common areas, the place where floor residents can all come together, also lessens the sense of community, which is important for a first-year student’s college transition.

As the University continues to address the overflow of students, it is clear that new and current students are finding it difficult to access desired on-campus housing accommodations, and temporary accommodations won’t fix that.

UMaine has bitten off more than they can chew when accepting first-year students, and if this record number of incoming students continues into the next academic year, UMaine needs to change their current options to provide more adequate on-campus housing accommodations that benefit all students.


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