In the midst of Columbia’s room selection process, campus has been buzzing over new, controversial rulings by the campus housing department; namely, the decision to use East Campus, a long-time promised dwelling for seniors, as overflow for rising sophomores displaced by the exclusion of Hartley Hall, an all sophomore dorm, from the 2025-2026 room selection. This has left rising seniors in limbo, for without EC, there will not be enough campus housing to accommodate the entire senior class. Columbia’s solution? To revoke guaranteed housing for seniors in the class of 2026.
According to Columbia Housing, this controversial decision is part of a new initiative being started by Columbia College and Columbia Engineering, aiming to champion independence for upperclassmen.
In a statement by Lorena Prosco, Executive Director for Housing Services and Student Center Operations, Prosco notes, “We understand this will come as a shock, however we hope that the community will approach this decision with open minds. Although it came about from the unfortunate circumstances of the necessity for construction on Hartley Hall, we at Housing Services believe this will be a fantastic opportunity to champion independence and resilience, especially for our seniors on the precipice of exiting our gates and entering the world”
President Armstrong also commented, “Genuinely fuck ‘dem kids, like get a job or something, get an apartment, I don’t know, dog.”
We will have more information as this story unfolds, and more is disclosed, but rising seniors, start looking for off-campus housing! And all students, start looking forward to a new, sophomore age of EC ragers.
