Recent meetings of the Graduate Student Assembly have focused on issues
pertaining to the state of graduate student housing. Demand for on-campus
housing has increased in recent years, while the number of available rooms has
continued to decline. Many students have expressed concern over the lack of
available housing, especially in light of the proposed expansion of childcare
services into Whitehall apartments and plans for the future replacement of
Helen Hadley Hall. The situation is especially problematic for international
students, many of whom do not have the luxury of visiting Yale early to look
for housing.

Students benefit from supportive communities that graduate student housing
creates; at Whitehall, for example, spouses of international students, who
often do not have permission to work in this country, help each other with
childcare. University-run housing is often also a safer and more convenient
option than off-campus alternatives, yet Yale only has the facilities to house
around 16 percent of all graduate students.

The GSA is working with the university and advocating both a future increase in
graduate housing and the renovation of exisiting facilities, such as the aging
Hall of Graduate Studies. While the university has expressed its intention to
renovate HGS in the future, residents point out that there are several serious
maintenance problems that require immediate attention. The graduate student
assembly is meeting with administrators to encourage them to address these
concerns and to include graduate students in the planning process for the
future of graduate housing.

Originally published in Yale Graduate Student Newsletter, Jan/Feb Issue