Faculty, student publish letters calling on UBC to prioritize affordable housing: Opinion

In two recently published letters, University of British Columbia faculty members and an international student have called for the university to consider a new housing approach. 92 UBC academics signed a letter to the university’s Board of Governors encouraging the institution to build new housing on its endowed lands for students, staff and faculty to rent at below-market rates. The letter discusses the signatories’ concerns with the university leasing its land and the sustainability and commuting implications of off-campus housing. The letter asserts that the university is large enough to make a difference in the regional housing crisis. UBC student Raghav Pathak also penned a letter for Ubyssey highlighting the impact of insufficient housing options on international students. Pathak questions how the university supports students, and writes that housing challenges threaten to alienate the people who give the university its identity.