Housing problem affects many
By Yoko Ito-Peterson
Daily Forty-Niner
Cal State Long Beach graduate student Hamad
Al-Badr had to stay at a motel until he found an apartment this semester.
"But, I am lucky to have found a place
to stay," said Al-Badr, a Saudi Arabian student who is one of about 460
international students who came to CSULB this semester.
Another international student, Masakazu
Ishikawa, who traveled to CSULB from Japan, had to commute by bus from
a Huntington Beach youth hostel until he got into one of the residence
halls.
"My bus line came only once an hour, and
it was not always on schedule," Ishikawa said.
Al-Badr and Ishikawa are just two out of
200 CSULB students who were placed on a waiting list to live in residence
halls. Because of this semester's huge freshman enrollment, an overflow
of students have been turned away from campus housing, said Gary Little,
director of Housing and Residential Life.
The housing situation left many international
students in a state of confusion, said Ignacio Castor, office manager for
the Center for International Education.
"International students came to the orientation
and expected to move to a dorm," said Brent Whittington, graduate assistant
at the center. "When they found out that they were on the waiting list,
they came to me just panicked."
The housing shortages have prompted Whittington
to appeal to the public for help. The center has been seeking volunteers
to temporarily house international students.
Whittington is asking mainly faculty and
administrators on campus to provide lodging because they know students,
and they tend to live closer to campus. His goal is to find about 150 temporary
houses.
Housing near CSULB is preferable because
many international students do not have personal modes of transportation.
"But distance does not disqualify applicants
because we are in need of temporary housing," Whittington said.
Students may live in houses on a temporary
emergency basis for two to six weeks, Whittington said. Students may be
charged $20 to $25 each night, but Whittington said he expects some individuals
will offer free lodging.
Housing applications for some international
students tend to be processed later because their forms do not arrive before
the applications of local students, Whittington said.
"They think there is housing on campus
because they have not received a letter that says no housing," he said.
Those who have welcomed international students
into their homes have enjoyed their company, Whittington said.
Joyce Kucera, who provided housing to
more than 24 international students, said she feels like she has an extended
international family.
"A student from Switzerland, whom I call
my son number four, had a wedding reception at my house," Kucera said.
Anyone interested in providing housing
may contact Whittington at (562) 985-5713. |
![[news]](http://www.csulb.edu/~d49er/Icon/news.gif){kind=icon}
![[opinion]](http://www.csulb.edu/~d49er/Icon/opinion.gif){kind=icon}
![[sports]](http://www.csulb.edu/~d49er/Icon/sports.gif){kind=icon}