Disclosure: I am an on-campus resident at Northgate Apartments, and Katelyn Barnes is my roommate’s girlfriend.
It has been 19 days since the Ole Miss Department of Student Housing followed Chancellor Boyce’s decision on March 12 to move classes online by closing access to all on-campus dormitories and apartments due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Student Housing has not indicated any plans to award housing refunds or credit student bursar accounts.
The Department of Housing is issuing a prepared response to all inquiries regarding the possibility of refunds. In a March 17 email and phone call, student worker Maddy Robbins gave the same statement, saying that while a decision has not yet been made, Student Housing was working with campus leadership to develop a plan.
“Student Housing is working with University leadership to determine the appropriate outcome regarding the refunding or crediting of any housing fees if a student decides to move out early, or for the time the residence halls are closed to students,” Robbins said. “As soon as this information becomes available, we will make it available to (campus residents).”
A week later, on March 24, Assistant Director of Student Housing Claire Lowe responded with nearly the same answer when asked about an update on a refund decision.
William Kneip, Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Executive Affairs, confirmed via email on March 31 that no decision has been made about refunds, but that the decision will be based on guidance from government officials.
“We are taking the topic of refunds very seriously and are awaiting further guidance from the Department of Education and the Attorney General’s office,” Kneip said. “We will need their opinions before we are able to reach and communicate a final decision.”
Colleges across the U.S. are making decisions about refunds for tuition and room and board. Stanford, which operates on a quarter system (instead of semester) has canceled housing and dining charges for the spring quarter, which began yesterday.
Harvard, Ohio State, and California-San Diego will return a portion of room and board fees for the time students are not on campus. Southeastern Conference rival LSU has pledged that it will offer an undetermined housing and meal credit for students who vacate campus housing before the end of the semester.
Following the March 12 decision, campus residents were then given the opportunity to retrieve essential items from their on-campus residences from March 15 – 18, when all residence halls and apartments were closed.
The open locations include Luckyday Residential College, Residential College South, Campus Walk Apartments, Northgate Apartments and Residence Halls 2 and 3. Students who were granted the alternative housing request and who lived in one of these 6 options were allowed to retain their rooms.
Junior Northgate resident Katelyn Barnes, who had been in Los Angeles on a student housing spring break trip, said that it was because of misinformation that she did not apply for the alternative housing request.
“I did (consider applying), but the people on the trip told me it was only for really special circumstances, so I didn’t think (I would get approved).”
Barnes, who lived in a one-bedroom unit at Northgate, is from Tishomingo, Mississippi, a rural area. Her home has poor Wi-Fi, which has already forced her to the public library and to her sister’s house for both schoolwork and for Zoom calls to lead her Supplemental Instruction sessions.
Her mom, who is a healthcare worker, is at risk to contract COVID-19, and Barnes fears she may be in danger too. She says that she would have been safer in her apartment, but was forced to go home.
“I live in a single bedroom apartment. I was basically quarantined by myself. It was way safer for me to stay there,” Barnes said. “But I feel like (Student Housing) didn’t even evaluate things on a case-by-case basis. They didn’t take my special circumstances into account when they made their decision.”
Barnes has contacted Student Housing twice about a possible refund and said that both times she was given the same response, with no details about how or when a decision would be made. She said that this prevented her from reaching out to Student Housing about her current issues with being stuck at home.
“I didn’t think (Student Housing) would have any sympathy towards (my situation)” Barnes said. “Me not being (in my apartment) for two months feels like my money was stolen from me. The students who live off-campus are still getting their housing that they paid for, so it doesn’t feel fair.”
The absence of a refund decision, Barnes fears, is a result of Student Housing wanting to ease the reaction to deciding not to grant refunds to displaced students.
“It feels like (Student Housing) knows it’s going to be an unpopular decision, so they’re dragging their feet, because they don’t want to give us (a refund),” Barnes said.
Freshman Mary Beth VanLandingham said that she was just getting used to college life, and now she has to make an adjustment all over again to working from home.
“I was getting the hang of things. I loved being in Oxford, and I had a routine. So, having to leave and come home has been difficult.” VanLandingham said. “It was easier to distance myself from distractions (on campus), like studying in study rooms or quiet places. But now, I’ve got three other people at home, and I’m limited to my bedroom as a quiet place.”
VanLandingham is not concerned with receiving a housing refund. As a Luckyday resident, she is more grateful that the school’s decision has allowed her to maintain social distancing.
“As a scholarship student, I didn’t have to pay for anything, so it’s really their money to do with as they wish,” VanLandingham said. “I understand that (Student Housing) is trying to enforce social distancing, and having everyone live together would have made it a lot easier for COVID-19 to spread.”
This story was originally posted on March 30, 2020, but was updated with Kneip’s statement on March 31.