Homeless

When the sem began, a lot of the people that I knew were rendered homeless. Driven out of the dorm, they were told to look for other places to stay.

The new dorm admission policy gives the Office of the Student Housing (OSH) the final say as to who will be admitted. A logical set of criteria was given: the place where the student permanently lives, gross annual family income, and grades. Priority was given to freshmen as a result of the 300% tuition fee increase they had to bear. Admission to the dorm would help them with their expenses.

Now these people I knew--some of them my close friends--were not given admission to Yakal where they've stayed for the past two to four years. Some are wondering why this was so since they were quick to submit the complete requirements for admission, even as far as sending their papers through LBC during the break. It's even baffling because they live very far: some come from Zamboanga, Iloilo, and other places that would require a three-day boat trip or an expensive plane ticket to reach.

They appealed to the administration, of course. Some had to come back everyday to ask if there were still vacant slots, the reply to which would always be a resounding "come back soon."

The troubles hounding the current dorm policies were expected. After all, the results were given only during the enrolment period. Some protested because they hadn't been informed that they had to submit requirements this summer since they were out of school and in their far-flung provinces. Others were irked by the apparent lack of transparency in the process.

If the same scenario happens next year, there's a possibility that this might be my last year in the Yakal. And now, in the cool confines of room 125, I wonder how it feels to be homeless.