Students attending historically Black colleges and universities in the Atlanta University Center are dealing with an affordable housing shortage. Now, institutions such as Morehouse College, Spelman University, and Clark-Atlanta University are facing increased pressure from students to address the issue.
This problem comes as interest in HBCUs has increased. Applications to HBCUs have gone up nearly 30%, and the recent Supreme Court ruling reversing affirmative action is expected to boost enrollment.
Several HBCUs lack sufficient housing for their students. At Morehouse College, for example, the school can house 1,400 students but has over 2,000 attendees.
The HBCU housing crisis has been a long-standing issue. It has been exacerbated by rising HBCU enrollment, poor living conditions, and lack of access to affordable off-campus housing. The latter is especially hard to find in a rapidly growing city like Atlanta where the median rent is 12.4% higher than the national median.
However, students, parents, and community members are coming together to offer solutions, including building more campus housing, renovating campus buildings into new housing units, and working with apartment complexes to strike deals. Many students and parents are also demanding schools make this a fundraising priority to provide affordable housing to their growing student bodies.