UC-San Diego Grad Student Rent Strike

From the San Diego Union-Tribune: PhD students, young doctors and pharmacists in training, and others looking to attend graduate or professional programs at UC San Diego this fall could suffer sticker shock when they see the new price of housing on campus. The university is planning a massive rent increase across all its graduate-school housing in October. In many cases, rents for incoming students will be $500 to $1,000 a month higher than current rates.

Now graduate students are pushing back, calling for a rent strike starting Thursday, April 1. They say the hikes — which were triggered by the recent construction of more than half a billion dollars in new living accommodations — are unethical and that the school cares more about wealth and prestige than middle-class and financially struggling students.

“I’m heartbroken,” said Casey Meehan, a 28-year-old living on campus and working on his doctorate in computer science.  The university puts out a lot of messaging around diversity, equity and inclusion, but when it comes to putting your money where your mouth is and making it affordable, then we don’t see it,” he added...

UCSD declined an interview request for this story but answered questions through email. The university said its new rates will remain at least 20 percent lower than what it would cost to rent an apartment in the wider San Diego region. A two-bedroom apartment for graduate students on campus currently goes for roughly $1,250 to around $1,850, depending on size and amenities. Rents usually include the cost of water, trash, gas, parking, internet and sometimes electricity...

Full story at:

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/education/story/2021-03-27/ucsd-grad-students-rent-strike