Palm Beach Atlantic Students raise concern about housing

On Wednesday, March 20, Palm Beach Atlantic University students formed a line outside of the Residence Life office concerned about their housing situation for the upcoming year. Earlier that day, students had opened the new PBA housing portal and discovered a glitch, making it impossible for them to secure their housing selections.

PBA Students in the Residence Life Office. Photo Credit: Kyla Ann Faircloth

Residence Life sent an email to students the day after the housing portal opened addressing the glitch in the system.

“We apologize for the technical issue that occurred last night, which affected the order of issued timeslots. The corrected time slots will be sent out today. For assistance, please visit the ResLife office by 12:00 PM,” wrote Residence Life.

Residence Life declined to comment when asked about the situation.

The housing portal glitch raised other housing concerns among students such as allergy accommodations, which require students to have a kitchen, and mold, forcing some students to move off-campus.

A PBA student anonymously published an online petition that calls to provide adequate housing for the current student body. 

“As dedicated students of Palm Beach Atlantic University (PBA), we find ourselves facing a troubling and uncertain situation regarding our housing arrangements. Due to a glitch in the system and a rise in new incoming students, many of us have been informed that our housing accommodations, which are critical to our well-being and academic success, cannot be guaranteed,” the petition states. “This issue is not isolated but affects many current students, leading to a sense of insecurity and frustration.”

The petition asks that PBA rectifies the housing glitch, prioritizes current students’ housing needs, addresses mold issues, and creates a fair housing policy. As of April 9, 211 people have signed the petition.

Freshman Bella Tabor hoped to get into a Coastal Hall apartment due to her allergies, which prevent her from eating most foods in the dining hall. To her surprise, she and her roommates were placed in a room without a kitchen in Weyenberg Hall after encountering the housing portal glitch. 

“It is just a really stressful situation because we joined when our time slot opened and still did not get the housing we wanted. I needed a kitchen because of my allergies,” said Tabor. “I feel bad for all of the people who still do not have the housing they wanted or needed."

After consulting with Residence Life for over two weeks, Tabor was moved into Watson Hall, where she has access to a kitchen.

Students are also concerned about the lack of housing on campus for PBA students. PBA has a total of eight housing buildings on campus, four of which are reserved for incoming freshmen. This leaves the other four, Weyenberg, Watson, Coastal, and Tortoise One for current students.

In an article published by WPTV on April 1, PBA reportedly asked the West Palm Beach Planning Department about increasing their population from the cap of 3,000 to 5,000 students and building a 25-story dormitory hall with 275 units and an 11-floor parking garage.

“The school told us its goal is to reduce the number of commuter students by increasing the number of students living on campus,” wrote Ethan Stein, a reporter for WPTV.

On April 3, President Debra A. Schwinn sent an email to the PBA faculty addressing the article. She confirmed that PBA wants to increase its student population, but the new dormitory building is designed to address the current needs of students and not the projected enrollment expansion.

“Currently, we can only provide on-campus housing for approximately half of our student population,” wrote Schwinn. 

Freshman and commuter student Alexis Debrowski lives in The Acreage and drives 40 minutes to campus during rush hour. She works a full-time job in order to pay for her education at PBA and is a full-time student who cannot afford housing due to the high cost.

“I think getting more students to move on campus is doable if certain things were to change, mainly cost,” said Debrowski.

Debrowski is transferring to Palm Beach State after the semester ends.

Since PBA’s on-campus halls filled up, any student who was not able to secure housing on campus was automatically put into Tortoise One which is an apartment complex one mile from campus. For $5,800 per year, Tortoise One is the most expensive housing option and is located off-campus.

Freshman Jessika Zimmer and her three roommates applied for Watson Hall for the upcoming semester, but when she attempted to register for housing, she encountered a glitch in the housing portal and ended up in Tortoise One.

“None of us of course were not expecting to pay that much for housing. Some of us really don’t know how we’re going to afford it,” said Zimmer. “I’m personally taking 17 credit hours next semester and I have an in-person class every weekday so I would much rather be on campus and it honestly seems like it’s going to be very inconvenient to be off campus.”

The students who have been able to secure housing on campus have run into mold issues with the campus dorm buildings.

Some students have purposefully moved off-campus to avoid illness from mold, while others have been moved into local hotels because of the ongoing issue.

PBA freshman Alexandria Hayford began her first semester in Hyatt Place Hotel due to mold in her Baxter Hall dorm. Living in a hotel room for two and a half months made college life inconvenient for Hayford, as she said she felt disconnected from campus. 

“I had to take my laundry to Baxter in order to do my laundry, eventually they gave us money to do our laundry in the hotel, but that only happened 3 times out of the 2 and a half months of living there,” said Hayford. “It was very stressful for the first time living on my own to be in a hotel and not know anyone getting here.” 

Hayford is transferring to Slippery Rock University, Pennsylvania after the semester ends. 

“We, the undersigned, call on PBA University to prioritize the housing needs of its current students and resolve this issue promptly. A safe, secure, and stable living environment is not a luxury—it is an essential part of the educational experience. Without adequate housing, students are left in a state of uncertainty that disrupts their academic focus and personal well-being,” the petition states.

By Kyla Ann Faircloth