SARASOTA (SNN TV) – Upperclassmen at New College are being pushed into shared space dorms to make way for student athletes. These dorms were marked as virtually uninhabitable.
Returning students received an email that their housing was changed last minute to accommodate the influx of student athletes and freshmen. These new students will occupy the Dort and Goldstein buildings historically given to upperclassmen.
The returning students will move into the shared-space dorms and the I. M. Pei dorms. However, the Pei dorms were identified earlier this year as being virtually uninhabitable due to mold. A May report said they shouldn’t be occupied until repaired.
While the college’s email mentioned ongoing renovations, it was unclear if that included mold issues. New College said they had taken mold-affected rooms offline for students.
Upperclassmen told the Herald-Tribune that shared space dorms aren’t ideal for thesis projects.
On-campus housing costs between $3,000 and $5,000 per semester, a student housing employee told the Herald-Tribune.
The estimated median monthly rent in Sarasota for a one-bedroom apartment is $1,500, and since March 2020, rents have increased by 43.5% in the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metro area, the sixth-largest increase in the country, according to apartmentlist.com data.
“To all of us (students), that just sounds like they’re trying to drive us out,” 20-year-old student Zoe Fountain told the Herald-Tribune.