With inauguration weekend coming up, some AU students planned to make extra money by renting out their dorm rooms to tourists staying in D.C. this week. Other students are having friends stay in their rooms for the weekend and are excited to share the inauguration experience with them.
Alexander Hula, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, decided to remove his dorm room from Craigslist as a result of AU's Housing and Dining policy.
"We actually got an offer for $400 a night when we listed our dorm room on Craigslist, but had to decline it when we got the e-mail from Housing and Dining that said we weren't allowed to do that," he said.
Hula, who needed to make money for groceries and a trip to Italy, took the opportunity to rent out his terrace level dorm room very seriously.
"The description mentioned a luxurious bedroom with two beds, television, refrigerator and meals," he said. "I was planning on either swiping them into TDR or making them my favorite whole wheat pasta from scratch in the lounge kitchen."
Carleigh Rixon, a freshman in the School of International Service, registered two of her closest friends to stay in her dorm room for inauguration weekend.
"Of course, it'll be annoying having to always show an ID and claim my friends, but I'm just glad that we all get the chance to be here together in the District during this historic inauguration," Rixon said.
Tim Gallivan, a junior in the School of Public Affairs and a resident assistant in McDowell Hall, said he is confident that requiring identification at the front door will help keep the residents on his floor safe.
"I think it sounds like a very well thought out policy because there are just no exceptions for anybody getting in without a guest ID, and the escort policy should account for renters not getting in," he said.
Potential visitors found tickets to official events difficult to obtain, the price tags of housing unreasonably high and the initial overestimate of four million people frightening, according to The Washington Post.
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