There's no question a student housing shortage exists in State College. There's also no question that Penn State needs to step up and do something about how students who live off-campus find places to live.
Right now, though, only the borough seems concerned about it. Mayor Elizabeth Goreham met with UPUA President Christian Ragland to discuss the issue last week.
Students are guaranteed one year of on-campus living as a freshman, but after that all bets are off in most cases, which should be an easy problem to work around if a student's housing contract isn't renewed.
However, there is no timetable for a student to receive confirmation or rejection of housing, leaving many students with nowhere to live after most complexes have filled their apartments.
Penn State offers no real provisions for students in need of off-campus living. For non-freshmen, some still as young as 18, the prospect of picking a place to live is a challenging and intimidating task, and students often have to go through it without any assistance.
International students are often left in a worse position than students already at University Park or transferring from a commonwealth campus. Students coming in from overseas need to find housing -- again on their own -- before even coming to Penn State.
The university needs to do something to help the students in need of housing. This is not a borough issue; the root of the issue is Penn State.
Student housing is going to remain a problem until someone steps in and takes a look at the whole system. While it won't be fixed overnight, the university should start by at least implementing an organized system meant to help students find suitable housing.
