In Push for Cheaper Student Housing, Fifth Time’s the Charm?

Priority residence hall locations as outlined in student body resolutions J.R. 21-09 and 21-10 (Image via Student Government Report)

For the fifth time in 13 months, UT-Austin's Student Government is begging university leadership to get on board with building more affordable housing on campus. And for the fifth time, they find themselves waiting for a response that might not come.

In November, members of UT's Student Government voted unanimously to implore administrators (Prez Jay Hartzell et al.) to rapidly expand housing supply. Close observers of the UT student body might sense déjà vu – the same resolution passed, in separate councils as well as the previous student assembly, with near-total support four times between 2021 and the most recent vote.

The current version, Assembly Resolution 17, does not require the university to do anything specific except acknowledge the herd of Longhorns demanding more income-restricted housing. As luxury high-rises continue their takeover of the once quaint West Campus neighborhood, students face burdensome rents, many opting to take residence in East Riverside/Oltorf. That's a problem, the student body argues, as research has linked living closer to campus to higher retention rates, grades, and overall academic achievement.

Since student body Prez Leland Murphy signed the resolution on Dec. 12, action from UT administrators is "still in the process," he said. The last time they did this, in 2021, the Office of the Dean of Students suspended the joint resolution process a week later, which meant no meetings on the subject – dead on arrival.

This resolution doesn't address privately owned apartment complexes; it focuses on building more undergraduate housing facilities on UT-owned land. In alignment with the 2015 Student Life Master Plan, key spots include Clark Field, Thompson Conference Center, and Creekside Hall.

"You can't just rely on the private market to provide affordable housing," said Ethan Smith, who authored the resolutions while finishing his second bachelor's from UT in 2021. "My model recommends that UT should, in a traditional bond finance manner, create more undergrad housing, and they should engage with the private market for graduate housing." Smith, who wrote a sprawling thesis paper about on-campus housing capacity, said, "The state has much more powerful tools to this end than the city." One major advantage is that UT doesn't pay state property taxes. Per Smith's proposal, UT can pass along those savings to students.

Under the Texas Advance Commitment program, broadened in 2020, UT students with a family adjusted gross income up to $65,000 receive full tuition coverage. Some campus leaders say that, while that's admirable, too many low-income students drop out or struggle academically due to housing costs. "If you are in leadership at a university, and you do not engage with the students meaningfully on policy issues, what does that say? This is a university with real, substantial issues about its strategic direction, and the biggest reason is the cost of living in Austin," Smith remarked.

Without significant interaction from UT leaders (yet, at least), Smith said his next step is taking the fight to the Texas Legislature. Last month, he announced a draft Senate bill for the creation of a housing affordability endowment fund. It's a bit of a Hail Mary – he's knocking on doors, messaging reps on LinkedIn, and doesn't care if it's a Republican or Democrat who bites on this legislation. The jury's out on whether this proposal will be ignored in that hall of power, too.