University of Virginia Library

Difficulties

As one of eighty-four
students placed in a temporary
triple, I tried to overlook the
difficulties of changing
dormitories, including: leaving
my new friends after two
months of my first year, losing
money paid as various fees at
my first dormitory, and
making ten trips to carry my
possessions to my room
without transportation. I
realized that the University was
probably trying to do its best
under crowded conditions.

A special letter of gratitude
was certainly not expected, but
when I opened the letter that I
received from the University, I
found a bill for $27.00. This
was to make up the difference
between the room rates of the
double and triple rooms. My
two ex-roommates received bills
for more than this for their
inconvenience. This was hardly
meant to compensate for the
sacrifices these students made
to provide the solution to the
University's over-crowding
mistake.

The University avoided the
expensive solution of building
new dormitories for many
hundred thousands of dollars,
and yet is small enough to send
bills for $27.00 to these
students after they left their
triple rooms. Admittedly,
however, even dropping the
bills to these students would be
small compensation for the
inconvenience and difficulties
which they have had.

Mr. Main, the Housing
Director, while sympathetic to
the problems of a triple and
while understanding the
inconvenience involved, stated
that there was no way that
they could compensate for
them. Ironically, the reason
given that the $27.00 bills
could not be dropped was that
all students must be treated
equally. I gladly appeal to the
students' idea of equality.