Students from four D.C. universities pitched tents in McPherson Square on Oct. 23 to protest the rising cost of student housing.
The encampment, organized by the Youth Progressive Action group (YPA), drew student participants from American University, Georgetown University, George Washington University and Catholic University. Participants held signs and chanted, “What do we want? More homes! When do we want them? Now!”
Van Cao, a student at Catholic University, said he commutes 40 minutes each way from his home in Maryland because dorm and apartment costs in D.C.
“D.C. has also been raising their housing and tuition price each year by around 3 percent and that adds up to a lot of money,” Cao said.
Cao said that on-campus housing was beneficial to his college experience because he had enough time to study and balance a social life. Now, he sometimes struggles to find the benefit in going home between classes, and he does not get to see friends as often or have as much time for studying.
The encampment was small, but mighty, with only around five participants — fewer students than the organizers anticipated. However, to students, it did not make the issue any less important.
Jefferson Ratliff, a graduate student in the School of Public Affairs at American University, said that finding housing compatible with his schedule has been difficult.
“It’s very difficult, sometimes, having to live off campus, commute to campus and finding good employment opportunities that lets you stay as a full-time student, along with being able to live in D.C.,” he said.
At American University, housing for masters students is not guaranteed. Ratliff said that finding housing on campus was difficult, and that the assistantships and student positions offered by universities did not provide enough hours or high enough wages to cover the cost of living in D.C.
“I’m working full time right now while taking a full graduate course load, because of that,” Ratliff said.
According to the University’s official data, the average cost for a double-occupancy room on campus is $13,112 per year. Alex Dray, a student protestor and YPA chapter member, emphasized that this price tag places an unnecessary burden on students.
“D.C. City Council needs to recognize that housing is a crisis right now, and they have yet to do so,” Alex Dray said. “That is especially true for members of my generation, young people, and especially students, who are already paying for university. We’re already trying to get ahead in life. But housing, the cost of it and the burden of it, is just way too high.”
Dray said the city’s outdated zoning rules are driving the housing shortage and high rent.
As The Eagle has previously reported, the University is impacted by these rigid zoning constraints.
“The reason that housing is in the crisis that it is in right now is because this D.C. City Council has been unable to reform the zoning rules that they need to do to allow more housing to be built to keep up with the population growth that D.C. has experienced over the past 10 to 15 years,” Dray said.
Sparkle Rainey, an organizer for YPA, explained what brought everyone to partake in the protest, highlighting that youth activism was critical now more than ever — especially as the generation protesting is the generation that will inherit the economic, social and structural reality of our nation.
“Going to school and trying to better your life to build this American dream for yourself should not bankrupt you, and you should not potentially end up on the streets because of that,” Rainey said.
The student protestors said as local elections near, they hope the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANC) and the D.C. City Council can make a change.
Following Janeese Lewis George being elected as D.C.’s first democratic socialist mayor on Nov. 3, activists are already putting pressure on these newly elected council members and the localized ANCs to tackle the systemic housing shortages and restrictive zoning laws that continue to strain student budgets.
“I think just continuing to have that pressure like it’s a top top tier priority issue for the next city council and for our next mayor,” Ratliff said.
This article was edited by EK Thomas, Cara Halford and Gabrielle McNamee. Copy editing by Avery Grossman, Mattie Lupo and Arin Burrell. Fact-checking by Josie Burnette.
