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Synapse Newspaper The UCSF Student
synapse.ucsf.edu | Thursday, March 5, 2015 | Volume 59, Number 10
Proposed rent increase sparks uproar over campus housing Bryne Ulmschneider Staff Writer
An announcement from campus Housing Services that it would increase rental rates by one-third for long-term residents had some ready to protest last week before school administrators ultimately vetoed the recommendation. The increase was one of several proposed solutions to housing shortages being recommended by the Housing Advisory Committee. It would have increased rates by 34 percent for students who already had resided in campus housing for more than two years. With median rental prices of $3,500, San Francisco currently ranks as the country’s most expensive place to live—higher than New York City’s median of $2,800— according to data collected by the rental website Live Lovely. Demand for student housing has increased in proportion with the dramatic rent increases San Francisco has seen since 2011. There is typically a waitlist of more than 700 people, and each year the housing lottery can accommodate only about 30 percent of demand. Although UCSF’s long-term plans are to build more housing by 2019, that won’t help current students. “The committee was asked to propose recommendations that would help create spaces for new students,” said Jennifer Rosko, director of student involvement and programs, and a member of the HAC. “In the absence of additional inventory, the committee brainstormed ways in which to create inventory which gave new UCSF affiliates a place to land and some time to learn more about the city so that when their UCSF housing lease is up, they would have a better understanding of where to look for housing outside the university.”
News Brief » UCSF schools lead in NIH Biomedical Research Funds
Recently released figures from National Institutes of Health showed that UCSF’s schools of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy last year topped the nation in federal biomedical research fundin for the second consecutive year. The graduate-level university as a whole received the most of any public recipient ($547 million) and second most overall in
Revisions to RCO alcohol policy require staff presence By Bryne Ulmschneider and Taylor LaFlam
UCSF Housing Services A rent hike from Housing Services would have increased rates to higher than some area neighborhoods.
Before housing term limits were shortened to two years in 2013, tenants had the option of staying in housing indefinitely, according to Housing Services. Those who were already established in housing under the old rules were subsequently grandfathered in to allow them to remain in their current situation for five and six years. These tenants now occupy more than a third of the available housing inventory, making fewer units available to other members of the UCSF community. HAC’s recommendation to raise rents on longtime residents by 34 percent would have brought the price of a one-bedroom unit from $2,309 to $3,002. That price funds after Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore ($619 million). In an email to UCSF staff, Chancellor Sam Hawgood wrote, “These highly competitive funds … through contracts and grants combined, reflect the caliber of research on our campus. Through the four schools and the Graduate Division, these funds enable UCSF scientists to advance understanding of the fundamental workings of biology and the underlying causes
is still lower than market rate in nearby neighborhoods like SOMA, where the median price for a 1-BR is $3,650, but higher than further afield neighborhoods like Glen Park where the median price for a 1-BR is $2,700. “I was shocked when I saw the email,” said Kevin Lance, a fifth-year graduate student in the bioengineering program who has lived in housing since 2011. Tenants who would have paid the higher rates quickly organized to protest what they deemed unfair rental increases. This included a flurry of letters to the senior
HOUSING » PAGE 10
UCSF Media Services
of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, and others, and work to develop improved therapies for them.”
The casual consumption of alcoholic beverages at a student event will no longer be quite so casual. The Student Life office, which oversees approval of all registered campus organization (RCO) events, announced last week that campus alcohol policy will require that a UCSF staff or faculty member be present at any on-campus student government or RCO event serving alcohol. The change was made at the advice of Risk Management and Insurance Services. “We’re trying to balance the needs of our student body as well as their safety,” said Jennifer Rosko, the director of student involvement and programs in the Student Life office. “These policies were put in place to protect students.” Rosko addressed the changes at Monday’s meeting of the Graduate and Professional Student Association. The general feeling among the student GPSA representatives was mixed. While students weren’t excited about having to go through additional hoops to serve alcohol, the student government said it was committed to working closely with Student Life to ensure compliance with the new regulations. “Although I completely understand the reasons why these policies were put in place—and there’s no pushback on the part of the medical students—this policy does feel somewhat infantilizing,” said Sidney Le, a second-year medical student and co-president of the Associated Students of the School of Medicine. In addition to ensuring UCSF staff or faculty are present, event organizers must submit an alcohol request via the OrgSync portal on the UCSF website. Prior to submitting the event request, RCOs must secure event liability coverage that includes a provision that covers the use of alcohol.
ALCOHOL » PAGE 10
MORE: For a student perspective on
problems with the new alcohol policy, see the opinion piece on Page 4.