I hope this student reads what she wrote—obviously she does not understand that the problem is not the cost of dorms at a UC school, it is parents that broke the law—then blaming the fact her mother is here illegally on her not being able to get a job. This I would call ILLEGAL ALIEN PRIVILEGE. Break the law and the United States owes you.
“I am a student at UC Davis and a victim of the prohibitive cost of student housing in this state. My future and my prospects were almost destroyed as a result of student housing unaffordability. My father – an undocumented immigrant – was deported in 2016. Shortly after, my mother lost her job, the only financial support my brother and I had, and her undocumented status prevented her from getting another job.
Our income dropped considerably, and I suffered unstable housing in California my first two years in college. Even though I worked as hard as I could to pay for housing, I was no longer able to afford a place in Davis’s incredibly overpriced housing market. I was at risk of homelessness.
Guess as a college student she does not know it is illegal to hire law breakers from other countries. Imagine, a decent, honest American could not get a seat at UC Davis so this privileged child of illegal aliens—who might also be an illegal alien, could get a free college education. Shame on us.
Student housing crisis almost ruined my life
I am a student at UC Davis, and even though I worked as hard as I could to pay for housing, I was at risk of homelessness.
By Alexandra Olvera, Special to CalMatters, 4/27/21
Alexandra Olvera is a student at the University of California, Davis, [email protected]. She is the co-president of her pre-law student association.
The student housing shortage in California almost ruined my life and continues to threaten students across the state.
I am a student at UC Davis and a victim of the prohibitive cost of student housing in this state. My future and my prospects were almost destroyed as a result of student housing unaffordability. My father – an undocumented immigrant – was deported in 2016. Shortly after, my mother lost her job, the only financial support my brother and I had, and her undocumented status prevented her from getting another job.
Our income dropped considerably, and I suffered unstable housing in California my first two years in college. Even though I worked as hard as I could to pay for housing, I was no longer able to afford a place in Davis’s incredibly overpriced housing market. I was at risk of homelessness.
In the last decade, California’s student homelessness has increased by 50%, with more than a fifth of all California Community College students affected in 2019. Students of color are particularly vulnerable, with more than 60% reporting homelessness, even though Black or Latino students made up less than half of the surveyed participants.
For students, homelessness is not the end of our troubles. I was born and raised in Arizona. After losing my housing in Davis, I no longer had a California address: I lost my residency status and my financial aid, and was almost forced out of the university as a result. I could not afford to pay the exorbitant out-of-state tuition that I was suddenly on the hook for.
Thankfully, the university was able to resolve this issue – I gained my residency status back, and I am still a student. I did not have to drop out, and my future wasn’t ruined. Many aren’t as lucky.
Increased student homelessness is related directly to the rising cost of housing, which should come as no surprise given that college towns like Davis – which had a 1% vacancy rate in 2020 – have seen almost every housing project in the last few years sued under CEQA and delayed, sometimes for years.
Berkeley, San Diego, Los Angeles, Chico and Santa Cruz have seen similar lawsuits against new housing construction. In Chico, more than 50,000 survivors of the Camp Fire remain housing insecure, and Santa Cruz’s housing crisis led to the COLA strikes of 2019.
CEQA lawsuits are only one factor leading to increased costs and the consequent rise in student homelessness. But they do play a major role in the constrained supply of affordable student housing and must be addressed. We need more affordable student housing in college towns.
