What can be done to solve the student housing crisis in California?

Published: April 18, 2024, 5:55 p.m.

The housing crisis is widespread in California and it has become especially dire for college students, as rents go ever higher and competition increases for whatever apartments are available.

A 2022 UCLA survey found that student homelessness ranges from anywhere 5 to 20% across California\u2019s colleges and universities, meaning that potentially hundreds of thousands of students are unhoused.

So, what\u2019s being done to solve this problem?

We\u2019ll start our conversation with Zennon Ulyate-Crow, third year student at UC Santa Cruz and founder and co-chair of the Student Homes Coalition - a student-led collective of higher education advocacy organizations and youth activists fighting for abundant, accessible, and affordable student housing.

And then we'll turn to Su-Jin Jez, CEO of California Competes, a nonpartisan policy and research organization focused on identifying solutions to the state\u2019s challenges at the intersection of higher education, equity, and the economy.\xa0