The Department of Housing and Residential Education is doing the right thing by bending the rules and accepting requests for the recently displaced students of the fourth floor of Cobb Residence Hall to terminate their housing contracts.
The contract states that the student’s signature is for space in the residence halls and not for a specific room, roommate or building.
This could mean that the residents of Cobb would be forced to remain on campus so that the housing department is able to collect the amount of money they anticipated from these residents.
After all the damage these students have endured, a forced relocation would be insensitive to the situation.
By handling contracts on a case-by-case basis, the housing department is showing that students’ needs take priority.
Displaced residents cannot simply terminate their contract without applying to do so through the housing department, explaining their reasoning in writing.
This process regulates the procedure of rehousing students who lived on the fourth floor.
Instead of offering definite contract terminations for all residents who lost their rooms, the department is providing an alternative for those who feel they would not do well in a dorm reassignment.
This makes the most sense for students and for the housing department, as some students might be happy with their reassignments and do not want to look for off-campus housing. The housing department cannot simply lose 90 students’ worth of housing fees without batting an eye.
The housing department has shown sensitivity in the event by allowing requests in a case-by-case basis instead of binding students to a contract that may not be as fair in emergency situations like the Cobb fire.
