UNC-Chapel Hill Graduate Students Petition Against Loss of Affordable On-Campus Housing
Graduate students at UNC-Chapel Hill are protesting a university plan to convert Baity Hill, their current on-campus housing complex, into undergraduate student housing. This change would displace graduate students, including families like Chloe and Clayton Ulm, who rely on Baity Hill's fixed $1600 monthly rent as their most affordable option. The Ulms, a family of four, have lived in Baity Hill since their children were born and state that without it, they have no other affordable housing choice. On Monday, a group of graduate students delivered a petition to Jonathan Sauls, UNC-Chapel Hill's vice chancellor of student success, urging administrators to reconsider. Nearly half of Baity Hill residents signed the petition. Sauls indicated that the decision is a direct response to the university's plan for undergraduate growth, citing a difficult housing ecosystem and the need to accommodate more undergraduate students as directed by the Board of Trustees.
