BYU Housing Rule Change

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Arrakeen
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BYU Housing Rule Change

Post by Arrakeen »

Today BYU announced students will no longer be required to live in approved housing after their first year.

This is a pretty significant change. For one, BYU students can break out of the approved housing monopoly which should make things more affordable. And they can vote with their feet and leave apartments where landlords have long taken advantage of residents.

Apparently sex separation is still required, and all students must still abide by honor code standards in their apartment. But it removes one more area of students’ lives being micromanaged and supervised at all times. Also, now only BYU students will be eligible to live in BYU-contracted housing, which removes many situations of non-BYU students being forced to live by BYU and church standards.

It’s also interesting that previously it seemed that the approved housing rule was always justified as providing an environment conducive to keeping the honor code. While I believe the practical considerations like student outrage over rising rent prices in a monopolistic market were the main factor in this change, I also hope it came with some realization and BYU students are adults and don’t need to be told where to live to protect them from breaking the honor code.
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DarkJedi
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Re: BYU Housing Rule Change

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My BYU student son told me about this yesterday and I saw the Deseret News article today https://www.deseret.com/faith/2021/9/23 ... shman-year

I think it's a long overdue change. I believe the current system is monopolized mostly by a few major property owners who get away with a lot while the "little guy" with affordable and perfectly acceptable available units has a tough time getting approved. The change to only BYU students being able to live in BYU contracted housing (didn't it used to be called "BYU approved?") is also a bit interesting. In a way I get it - all of my children at one point or another had non-BYU students living in their apartments. I'm not sure if that's some kind of trade off or compromise with the property owners but I'm also not sure I'd like it if I were a property owner. (My current BYU student lives in an apartment with two others, neither of who are BYU students.)
In the absence of knowledge or faith there is always hope.

Once there was a gentile...who came before Hillel. He said "Convert me on the condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot." Hillel converted him, saying: That which is despicable to you, do not do to your fellow, this is the whole Torah, and the rest is commentary, go and learn it."

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Roy
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Re: BYU Housing Rule Change

Post by Roy »

From what I have read regarding this change it is a good thing. BYU students do not need to be babysat.

I have also heard that this is unfortunately bad news for non-BYU students currently living in BYU approved housing that will now be required to find somewhere else to live.

One commenter on the facebook post said that this was to protect the BYU contracted housing from transgender individuals wanting to obtain housing in their chosen gender rather than the gender listed on their birth certificate. Does anyone else have any insight into that claim?
DarkJedi wrote: 24 Sep 2021, 10:15 The change to only BYU students being able to live in BYU contracted housing (didn't it used to be called "BYU approved?") is also a bit interesting.
It may be that BYU is sort of deputizing these private apartment owners into providing their apartments as sort of dormitories for the university. These quasi "dormitories" are only required for first year students (a not uncommon practice for universities) and non-students cannot reside in the dormitory.
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Old-Timer
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Re: BYU Housing Rule Change

Post by Old-Timer »

I think Roy's last paragraph is spot-on. Having worked in higher ed for nearly a decade, I agree the new policy essentially makes approved housing mirror freshmen dorms. Given the recent spike in construction costs, it makes financial sense for BYU to allow landlords to become the keepers of freshmen dorms.
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DarkJedi
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Re: BYU Housing Rule Change

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Old-Timer wrote: 26 Sep 2021, 22:52 I think Roy's last paragraph is spot-on. Having worked in higher ed for nearly a decade, I agree the new policy essentially makes approved housing mirror freshmen dorms. Given the recent spike in construction costs, it makes financial sense for BYU to allow landlords to become the keepers of freshmen dorms.
And in our experience with having had 4 BYU students, most of those who live in on campus housing (Heritage, Helaman, etc.) are freshman. Freshman do live off campus as well, as do most others.
In the absence of knowledge or faith there is always hope.

Once there was a gentile...who came before Hillel. He said "Convert me on the condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot." Hillel converted him, saying: That which is despicable to you, do not do to your fellow, this is the whole Torah, and the rest is commentary, go and learn it."

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Arrakeen
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Re: BYU Housing Rule Change

Post by Arrakeen »

Roy wrote: 26 Sep 2021, 10:31 One commenter on the facebook post said that this was to protect the BYU contracted housing from transgender individuals wanting to obtain housing in their chosen gender rather than the gender listed on their birth certificate. Does anyone else have any insight into that claim?
This seems unlikely to me. If now only freshmen are required to live in contracted housing, it makes sense that housing would be set aside for that purpose and reserved for those students.
Roy
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Re: BYU Housing Rule Change

Post by Roy »

Right, it doesn't seem to fit but I thought I would ask around. ;)
"It is not so much the pain and suffering of life which crushes the individual as it is its meaninglessness and hopelessness." C. A. Elwood

“It is not the function of religion to answer all the questions about God’s moral government of the universe, but to give one courage, through faith, to go on in the face of questions he never finds the answer to in his present status.” TPC: Harold B. Lee 223

"I struggle now with establishing my faith that God may always be there, but may not always need to intervene" Heber13
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DarkJedi
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Re: BYU Housing Rule Change

Post by DarkJedi »

I think it could be a possibility under the current system where non-BYU students are allowed in BYU contracted housing.

I do think the new to BYU idea that freshmen (seems like we need a new term for that in 2021) must live in contracted housing is more of a bone to the favored mega property owners. Not having to manage off campus housing is a really good thing to an institution to give up - one less thing to to (and pay people to do). The downside is in doing so they're saying to the property owners they've had a long relationship with and who have jumped through some hoops to get approved at least to begin with "Thanks, you're on your own!" By requiring freshmen to live in this housing they are still guaranteeing them a market. I think a positive side of all this for students (less so freshmen) is that this might spark a bit more competition and might overall lower some rent. I think it will be more difficult to say to a junior "We remodeled (IOW painted) and we're raising the rent next semester" because that person will now have more options.

That last reference in the previous paragraph actually happened to one of my kids. Full story, he lived in a small complex close to campus (very close to the infamous stairway). The place was really kind of a dump, tiny rooms, six guys crammed into 3 bedrooms with a teensy living room and kitchen but it met BYU housing guidelines and rent was cheap. Also interesting is that my wife, who attended BYU 30 years before him, lived in the same complex and very little had changed (the kitchen cabinets had not changed). He lived there for a year, including summer. During the summer they painted the apartment walls and notified people who were renewing rent was going to increase $50/month. He moved.
In the absence of knowledge or faith there is always hope.

Once there was a gentile...who came before Hillel. He said "Convert me on the condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot." Hillel converted him, saying: That which is despicable to you, do not do to your fellow, this is the whole Torah, and the rest is commentary, go and learn it."

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Roy
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Re: BYU Housing Rule Change

Post by Roy »

DarkJedi wrote: 28 Sep 2021, 09:03 That last reference in the previous paragraph actually happened to one of my kids. Full story, he lived in a small complex close to campus (very close to the infamous stairway). The place was really kind of a dump, tiny rooms, six guys crammed into 3 bedrooms with a teensy living room and kitchen but it met BYU housing guidelines and rent was cheap. Also interesting is that my wife, who attended BYU 30 years before him, lived in the same complex and very little had changed (the kitchen cabinets had not changed). He lived there for a year, including summer. During the summer they painted the apartment walls and notified people who were renewing rent was going to increase $50/month. He moved.
Was it Miller Apartments? If not, there must be more than one apartment complex that meets this exact description.
"It is not so much the pain and suffering of life which crushes the individual as it is its meaninglessness and hopelessness." C. A. Elwood

“It is not the function of religion to answer all the questions about God’s moral government of the universe, but to give one courage, through faith, to go on in the face of questions he never finds the answer to in his present status.” TPC: Harold B. Lee 223

"I struggle now with establishing my faith that God may always be there, but may not always need to intervene" Heber13
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DarkJedi
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Re: BYU Housing Rule Change

Post by DarkJedi »

Roy wrote: 28 Sep 2021, 10:52
DarkJedi wrote: 28 Sep 2021, 09:03 That last reference in the previous paragraph actually happened to one of my kids. Full story, he lived in a small complex close to campus (very close to the infamous stairway). The place was really kind of a dump, tiny rooms, six guys crammed into 3 bedrooms with a teensy living room and kitchen but it met BYU housing guidelines and rent was cheap. Also interesting is that my wife, who attended BYU 30 years before him, lived in the same complex and very little had changed (the kitchen cabinets had not changed). He lived there for a year, including summer. During the summer they painted the apartment walls and notified people who were renewing rent was going to increase $50/month. He moved.
Was it Miller Apartments? If not, there must be more than one apartment complex that meets this exact description.
Perhaps building would have been a better description than a complex. It looks like Miller Apartments may have been rebranded, and if the pictures I can see by Googling are any indication the apartments at Miller were much larger than the place to which I was referring. I am reticent to name the place because I think sometimes a business is able to bring legal action for trashing them, even if everything is the truth. I will say it is much closer to campus than Miller - I'm not sure there are any closer (although there are some as close). A fair description of the living room/kitchen (front of the apartments) is wide hallway - most modern hospital hallways are probably wider.
In the absence of knowledge or faith there is always hope.

Once there was a gentile...who came before Hillel. He said "Convert me on the condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot." Hillel converted him, saying: That which is despicable to you, do not do to your fellow, this is the whole Torah, and the rest is commentary, go and learn it."

My Introduction
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