Photo by Millie Eckel
Every Trinity student is dealing with a unique housing situation and, in most cases, a uniquely hard decision.
To understand the different housing situations Trinity students are facing, it is easiest to divide them into two types of students: the settled and the unsettled.
The settled students are composed of two groups. The first group is the students that are living off campus in San Antonio. The second group is the students that are living off-campus outside San Antonio and have decided they are staying home next semester.
The students living off-campus in San Antonio get the stability and the college experience. These students are settled because they know for sure where they will be living next semester, but other than that, their experience next semester will look very different.
Then there are the people deciding to live outside of San Antonio next semester. They have some hard decisions to make. They have to balance trying to make the most of their college experience and all their other concerns.
Faith Padgett, sophomore, spoke about the decision she had to make. “As much as I miss being on campus, it’s not worth potentially being exposed to covid. Additionally, many classes will still be online, and I’d rather take my classes somewhere I feel completely comfortable,” said Padgett
Other students living off campus have different priorities and concerns. Kenneth Nelson, sophomore, spoke of policies that are of particular concern to him.
“I imagine Trinity does have a policy about what happens if you get coronavirus. To me that policy was abundantly unclear. I haven’t seen anything in my email that changes that. The other thing is that keeping housing at the same price as it was pre-pandemic is absolutely ridiculous. Social benefits of living on campus denied greatly,” said Nelson.
On the other hand, there is the unsettled group of students. These students are those living on campus, mostly first-years, and those trying to live in San Antonio, whether on or off-campus.
First years have had probably the best housing situation they could during this difficult time. They are actually able to live on campus, but unfortunately, what they will do next semester is pretty unclear.
Dillon McManus, first year at Trinity, spoke about how nobody on campus, not even the first years, have been guaranteed housing next semester. “We have to move all of our stuff out of the room. They told us to pack lightly because there is a chance we are not coming back,” said McManus.
When it comes down to it, no one really knows what next semester will look like, which makes decisions even harder. “I feel like I have sufficient information, but not abundant. I know what to do next semester because it mirrors what I’m currently doing, but I feel that students hoping to change their living situation or experiencing new circumstances may not have the information they need to be completely confident,” said Padgett.
However, this lack of information is pretty much unavoidable, and students understand that. “Things are constantly changing. I’ve heard that cases are rising in the last week. It is very unpredictable, so I don’t blame Trinity for not being able to get that much information out,” said McManus.
Trinity students also share their belief that the restrictions on campus are necessary. “Given what we know about the pandemic right now It is exceedingly likely that we won’t have the pandemic under control. Letting everyone on campus seems like a bad idea,” said Nelson.
Regardless of what group they are in, all Trinity students share one thing in common: their housing situation was not what they expected coming into college. So when you wonder for the hundredth time what your living situation will be like next semester, you can be sure you’re not wondering alone.
