For high school students, college admissions are already a huge contribution to stress. Acceptance rates only seem to get smaller, and expectations from college administrations only get larger. Most California students apply to Universities of California (UC’s), but now the competition is doubling—especially for students hoping to attend the University of California Berkeley (UCB).

Of their previous 21,124 acceptances, they might have 3,050 fewer seats for incoming classes. This possible decrease in acceptance rates is the result of a lawsuit from Save Berkeley’s Neighborhoods. The residents’ group has accused the university of not providing enough on-campus housing for its high number of students.

“Since 2005, the university has admitted 14,000 students but provided only 1,600 beds, said Phil Bokovoy, president of Save Berkeley’s Neighborhoods, which sued the university in 2018,” wrote Maria Cramer.

Not only do the lowering acceptance numbers make it harder to attend, but Kristina Sanchez, a senior at Downtown Magnets High School in L.A., told The New York Times that it also lowers the amount of financial aid that lower and middle-income families can receive.

The lack of housing at Berkeley forced students to seek housing in the surrounding neighborhoods, “displacing low-income and middle-income residents,” said Phil Bokovoy, the president of Save Berkeley’s Neighborhoods. 

In fact, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, 10% of students have experienced homelessness while attending the school, and 20% of doctoral students.

In 2019, Save Berkeley’s Neighborhoods sued the university to stop the Upper Hearst Project, which would “create vital new academic and study spaces for the Goldman School of Public Policy,” incorporating “much-needed faculty, staff, postdoc and/or graduate student housing, through a public/private partnership.” 

Save Berkeley’s Neighborhoods said that the university didn’t explain how the project would alleviate the housing crisis. 

“On Feb. 10, an appellate court declined to order a stay on the lower court’s decision, meaning that the university would have to abide by the Superior Court’s order to freeze enrollment,” said Cramer.

The appellate court explained that the university’s lawyers waited three months to file an appeal and that the Regents of UCB haven’t shown that they “would suffer irreparable harm outweighing the harm that would be suffered by the other party”. 

The housing crisis at UCB shined a light on the housing crisis at other UCs, like UC Santa Barbara and San Diego. Not only are students under pressure to get into college and do well, but they also have to worry about a roof over their heads. 

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