SFU’s closure of Louis Riel House upsets students with families

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      Finding a new home wasn’t part of Teresa Dettling’s plan.

      When the single mom moved to Simon Fraser University’s Burnaby Mountain campus more than two years ago, she was prepared for two big things. One was to earn double degrees in history and First Nations studies. The other was to raise her young daughter.

      On March 7, Dettling and other residents of SFU’s Louis Riel House were told that they have to leave by the end of August.

      “My education is not done, and I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Dettling told the Georgia Straight on March 10.

      On the same day, the university announced that it will close the only housing facility on campus that accommodates families because of structural and indoor-air-quality issues.

      Dettling said that there are families that will stop their education because they’re not able to afford higher rents elsewhere.

      “SFU has townhouses on campus that students are allowed to rent, but they won’t rent them to families,” she said.

      Dettling related that as a low-income individual, she has to save up far in advance in order to be able to move. She pays $990 a month for a two-bedroom apartment.

      Noting that she doesn’t have any immediate options, Dettling said: “I planned to be here for four years.”

      According to Nancy Johnston, executive director for student affairs at SFU, there are about 20 students with families at Louis Riel House. In addition, there are over 100 individual residents living there as singles, couples, and spouses.

      “We’ve determined that we can keep it a good residential experience until the end of the last lease, which is August 2015,” Johnston told the Straight by phone. “But after that, it’s clear, based on a number of pieces of information, that the building has kind of run its cycle.”

      Johnston said that the university decided two weeks ago to close down Louis Riel House.

      Whether or not a new family-oriented residence will be constructed is still unknown, according to her.

      An online FAQ posted by the university deals with the question of whether or not Louis Riel House residents will have alternative housing options at the same price they’re presently paying. The answer: “Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that current residents will be able to find alternative housing within the same price range.”

      Comments

      2 Comments

      Dee Chardain

      Mar 11, 2015 at 12:54pm

      Dah!!! Its concrete construction & not even 50 years old ... More throw-away-society ... and this in an institution of supposed higher learning.

      Jesse (SFU Student)

      Mar 11, 2015 at 3:08pm

      Its more complicated than that Dee, many of SFU's buildings are needing replacement it is not just this residence building. In fact the main biology wing of its shrum buildings has recently been changed from a priority for renovation to a priority for complete replacement because maintenance is so long overdue that it would now cost less to build a new building than retrofit the old one.

      The bottom line is that the university is struggling to make ends meet. We can point at the administration for having lofty/comfy salaries, that's always a part of it, but at the end of the day where does the university get its money from to fund these things? Well its supposed to be the government, but due to inflation and massive cuts SFU's budget is now majority funded not by the government. In fact provincial and federal grants account for ~46% of the overall funding and this has been consistently declining over the past several years and looks to continue to do so for at least the next year as well. Previous boards at the university have been budgeting the balance partially by deferring maintenance costs, due to a public information campaign that started a few years (google 'I heart SFU') ago the need for this practice to stop was highlighted and the deferred maintenance budget line has seen a significant increase in spending but it still falls drastically short because well there's just not enough money.