The debate over requirements to get into University apartments came to a close Wednesday evening at the most recent Student Government Association meeting.
While the question of apartment housing originally dealt with underclassmen receiving housing in apartments, this meeting introduced the question of commuter students and their status in the housing process.
Jessica Cusick, Griesedick senator, voiced the sentiments of the bill, stating, “The more semesters you’ve lived on campus, the higher your chances.”
Joey Kneer, School of Public Service senator, said that a survey conducted over the summer found that only 44 percent of students polled wanted 1818 credit to count toward housing priorities. He also stated that transfer credits after high school graduation will apply, as well as summer school and study-abroad hours.
Reinert Senator Joel Samuels said the essence of the proposed change makes housing priorities “based on where you lived and how long.”
Arts & Sciences Senator Maria Rodriguez asked, “How many students took the poll and how many were commuters?” Of 609 people participating in the survey, 15 percent were commuters.
Commuter senators brought up the issue of those students who commute for their first year and then wish to apply for apartments in their third and fourth years. Kneer explained this as a “revolving door” concept, where students who do not initially live on campus later decide they would like to live in the apartments.
Law School Sentor Rich Sykora said, “This resolution … sort of excludes commuters. I don’t think this is the only place on campus commuters are excluded. Only 100 applicants were commuter and transfer students.”
He suggested making the priority as follows: residents who have lived on campus for five semesters; then students who have been Saint Louis University students for five semesters; then residents who have lived on campus for four semesters; then students who have been SLU students for four semesters, and so forth, with transfer students at the bottom. Sykora said this is “a nice compromise…(that) doesn’t have a lot of negative effect.” He added, “Transfer students are at the bottom either way.”
Rodriguez then brought up the point about the definition of loyalty: “I don’t think that loyalty to SLU should boil down to money. This is an expensive school. I think we need to possibly re-evaluate our ideas about loyalty.”
Commuter Senator Matt Love made an amendment to change the clause, which stated that 45 credit hours and a 2.0 GPA were needed to apply for being “pulled in.” His proposal included changing the requirement to three semesters and a 2.0 GPA.
His amendment passed, but Sykora’s request to change the status of commuters did not.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the housing question was finally settled with “priority given to students who have lived on campus” and “only credits earned after high school graduation count(ing)” for students who have completed three semesters at SLU with a 2.0 GPA.
Now, students need 45 hours to be eligible to live in an apartment. Students with five semesters get priority, and then tie-breaking ensues by credit hours and then GPA.
