In an effort to house a growing number of students, Purdue University Residences places incoming freshman in dorm style housing that people are comparing to military barracks and prison.
The University is estimating that 107 incoming students will be housed temporarily in makeshift rooms that include a single bed desk, and wardrobe cabinet. The lager rooms hold up to ten students and have no walls. New students and their parents are not too happy about the accommodations and many blame greed on behalf of the university for the problem by enrolling too many students for the schools capacity.
Kierra Richards, a new student who will be living in one of the open dorms told WLFI:
Knowing I'm by myself, it kind of helps me a little bit so I don't have to worry about 9 other people in my room and I like being by myself sometimes so it helps with studying and everything.
The university tells Buzzfeed the situation is temporary and they will work as quickly as possible to find permanent housing for everyone. They also added students are free to find off-campus housing if they chose, but that excuse didn't fly with many people on social media.
Photos of a makeshift dorm at Purdue University are being compared to "prison" and "boot camp," with people raising… https://t.co/VTQ4ZSHHIJ— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeed News)1534460700.0
@BuzzFeedNews @LifeAtPurdue @purdueglobal @PurdueAlumni Do these students gets free or discounted housing because o… https://t.co/fA39KJh5hC— We are Florida State! (@We are Florida State!)1534510651.0
Now, imagine dropping your child off and you enter a room called “Auxiliary Housing” and THEY DONT HAVE THEIR OWN F… https://t.co/P3GME95ntD— Patrona Pablo (@Patrona Pablo)1534208977.0
I’ma start calling Purdue Housing in these communes ‘P Block’. 😂 But I wish all the babies the absolute best and I… https://t.co/SnNrLktYbj— Patrona Pablo (@Patrona Pablo)1534212390.0
@purdueexponent Seems like if you have X number of spaces, you should place no more than X number of students in ho… https://t.co/pbIMXKAeA9— John Hunt (@John Hunt)1534200247.0
IF YOU DONT HAVE HOUSING YOU DONT HAVE SPACE TO ADMIT MORE STUDENTS HOW IS THAT SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND PURDUE ADMIN… https://t.co/HnnjPkGFAr— tori (@tori)1534199289.0
This Twitter user say the schools point of view.
@BoiledSports I wonder if Purdue is employing a similar method to how airlines overbook planes: they know a certain… https://t.co/WADXrtL7D2— Dr. J (no not that one) (@Dr. J (no not that one))1534189423.0
While other people took the "suck it up buttercup" approach.
@BuzzFeedNews Looks like the dorm I lived in! Kids these days...— Jenny Adams (@Jenny Adams)1534461068.0
@BuzzFeedNews Here’s an idea: if you don’t like the dorming situation they were clearly not out of the blue faced w… https://t.co/Ma9JPcITcz— #BarrettSZN (@#BarrettSZN)1534483781.0
@BuzzFeedNews Doesn’t look any different than the traditional dorm I stayed in. 🤷🏼♀️— Nicole Inzunza (@Nicole Inzunza)1534461088.0
@KrishelleMH @BuzzFeedNews If it’s only temporary as they say it’s an inconvenience, but also an adventure. I think… https://t.co/4PGR9NW2hN— Pip (@Pip)1534462655.0
Resembling a military academy might be proving everyone's point.
@BuzzFeedNews Looks like my room all four years at West Point— Dude Cav (@Dude Cav)1534477477.0
But one young person wasn't taking any lip from old people.
@BuzzFeedNews Ugh, all of these old people sharing their unwanted opinions🙄 Spare us... these conditions are unacceptable - simple as that.— 𝕾𝖕𝖊𝖓𝖈𝖊𝖗 (@𝕾𝖕𝖊𝖓𝖈𝖊𝖗)1534469257.0
As this Twitter user pointed out, sometimes things work for the best.
@HammerAndRails I was on standby in 2003... Staring down the barrel of a Purdue tent City.... Then some guardian an… https://t.co/eO8cLJB401— Yeet it, and forgeet it (@Yeet it, and forgeet it)1534221213.0
This doesn't paint a pretty picture of life in the barracks.
The situation at Purdue University doesn't surprise me. We call our claustrophobic student storage 'supplementary h… https://t.co/n1qqQZpgMn— Carly Nordaby (@Carly Nordaby)1534489332.0
We certainly hope the university can find suitable housing for its students while keeping everyone safe.