*HBCU students in Atlanta are reportedly facing a housing shortage.
There is a growing housing crisis at the HBCUs within the Atlanta University Center, and administrations are scrambling to find solutions in order for students who don’t have a bed on campus, Black Enterprise reports.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, schools, such as Morehouse, lack sufficient housing as rents rise in the Georgia capital. There was a student protest last fall because of the shortage and rising cost of housing, but the results did not result in long-term change, Black Enterprise reports.
“There are so many abandoned dorm rooms across the street from the biggest dorms on campus that could be renovated right now,” said Alexia Innis, a senior at Clark Atlanta University, per AJC.
Innis noted that donations are pouring in but “no renovations are happening.”
“There’s space on campus to make living facilities, yet they choose not to,” said Innis.
The housing crisis will only become worse as more popular HBCUs expect to receive an increase in applications over the next few years.
“They need to network more with apartments in the Atlanta area, make it more of an option for students to be able to pay for their rent through tuition, because not everybody’s parents or families can afford to pay monthly rent out of pocket,” said Briana Prout, a senior at Spelman, AJC reports.
“When you start to think about Clark Atlanta, Morehouse, Spelman, we need to take some of this space and build dorms high up,” said Davida Morgan Washington, a mother of a Morehouse student and president of the college’s Parent Council.
“That needs to be a fundraising priority so that we can house all these students that we don’t wanna turn away,” Washington added.
READ MORE: T.D. Jakes Buys 94 Acres in Atlanta for Affordable Housing Project
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