Letters to the Editor: Who at UCSB decided to enroll more students without building enough housing?

Los Angeles Times Opinion
·2 min read
SANTA BARBARA, CA - NOVEMBER 09: UCSB student Kris Hotchkiss lives in a van borrowed from a close friend. The two friends rebuilt it to a bed, fridge, cabinets and ceiling air fan but one week into the quarter the battery short-circuited so he was without lights and electricity for six weeks. The senior communication major has to move the van to various locations near the UCSB campus. He's tried to make the best of it and says "learning to be comfortable with being uncomfortable" has helped him grow and learn resilience. California faces a statewide student housing crisis with some UCSB students forced to live in vehicles and hotels under temporary contracts due to expire next month. The crisis led the UCSB campus to move forward with a plan to build a massive 4,500-bed dorm with tiny rooms and few windows - dubbed "Dormzilla" - which sparked widespread student protests, national headlines and the resignation of the consulting architect. UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021 in Santa Barbara, CA. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times).
UCSB student Kris Hotchkiss lives in a van borrowed from a close friend. (Los Angeles Times)
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

To the editor: I live in Isla Vista, where UC Santa Barbara student Kris Hotchkiss was photographed in the van he lives in. UCSB over enrolled, and now my neighborhood must endure some students who cannot find housing parked outside our living room window and doing who-knows-what with their effluent. ("California college students live in vans and hotels as campus housing plans spark backlash," Nov. 12)

Your article does not point out that University of California campuses do not pay property taxes in the communities blessed with their presence. We pay for the infrastructural impact of their "business" that is now overflowing.

Your coverage of UCSB's housing debacle focuses on Charlie Munger, the billionaire who is donating $200 million toward the construction of a 4,500-resident dormitory. Meanwhile, UCSB Chancellor Henry T. Yang escapes criticism. Yang is responsible for the housing shortage and the overenrollment.

Students like Hotchkiss should park on campus and use the facilities there — at least until the UC Board of Regents can find UCSB a competent leader.

Peter Neushul, Isla Vista

..

To the editor: My undergrad life at UCSB in the 1970s consisted of living in a cute duplex in Isla Vista, working part time in the library for four years to augment the affordable tuition, studying abroad one year, getting a solid education, and emerging debt-free with a diploma.

Several friends resided in shabby Santa Barbara rentals with no complaints. No one lived in a car or motel.

Although there's a confluence of unfortunate circumstances contributing to this miserable debacle, UC adding nearly 6,000 more students than beds over the past six years was shortsighted.

The cost of attending college has increased by 169% since 1980. My nephews still carry student debt, which thwarts the opportunities that I took for granted.

Mary MacGregor, La Quinta

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.