WEST LAFAYETTE — With just weeks left in their summer break, some Purdue students are facing tough last-minute choices about where they'll live during this school year.
The change is leaving some of them frustrated and demanding answers from the university.
“It’s incredibly frustrating to constantly be dealing with this through this housing crisis,” said Purdue senior Ben Aulbach.
"I have to fight for a house that already secured," added his roommate Daniel Susalla, who's also a senior.
They're now among many university students in limbo about their living situations in the fall.
They’re issues both students have been dealing with for years, they say.
“One of my roommates had two extra roommates his freshman year, the other one did too," Aulbach explained. "This is their second time getting displaced by Purdue and it’s my first time."
On Wednesday, the university said they issued housing notices to returning students.
700 returning students out of the 7,442 upperclassmen who chose to live in University Residences got an email saying their room assignments would be different than their original housing contracts.
Aulbach and his three roommates said they signed their contracts back in November to live at Benchmark Apartments, just a half a mile from campus.
On Wednesday, the group was told they would have to live at Wabash Apartments, a complex across town with much smaller units.
“Those bedrooms did not have space for a second bed to be stored comfortably, much less a desk to study,” said Susalla. “That's like no way for college kids to live.”
On Thursday, the university reversed course giving students three options that they must decide on by 5 p.m. Sunday.
- Keep your original housing contract. This is the default. You don't need to do anything to keep it.
- Completely voluntarily as your choice, if you choose (you don’t have to) the alternative given to you on Wednesday (July 10), then your annual room fee will be reduced by $4,000 in addition to any automatic change due to occupancy.
(Example for First Street Towers double occupancy: $5,800 - $4,000 = $1,800 a year.) - You may choose to be released from your contract without penalty.
Despite the deadline looming, Aulbach said concerns he still has have gone unanswered.
“I’ve called housing 10 times now and emailed them twice and they’ve not answered,” he said. “I don’t 100% know where things stand because we had been hearing rumors these [Benchmark] apartments that were built for four people might have ended up having eight people.”
Purdue said they’re seeing historic admission which means more students than ever need University Residences.
The university is currently working on a new residence hall and expanding an existing one.
The construction is set to be complete by June 2026.
“On campus there are not enough buildings, there are not enough new construction for the incoming students,” said Muhammad Haroon, a Purdue PhD Student who chose not to live on campus.
For those do who rely on University Residences, students WRTV spoke with Friday said they want their concerns addressed.
Susalla has also started a petition calling for change from administration.
“I hope that it means they will take their claims to solve the housing crisis,” he said. “I hope it inspires future students to see the success that we've had with all the complaints and the petition and know that they can fight back.”
Purdue University sent this statement to WRTV when we reached out about an interview on Friday.
