The following email was forwarded to Bwog:

From: Residential Life & Housing <housing@barnard.edu>
Date: Wed, Aug 8, 2012 at 11:58 AM
Subject: Important email re: your Plimpton room assignment
Dear [redacted]

We are writing to you today because you are a resident of ##A# Plimpton (a corner room) with difficult news to share so close to the start of the semester. As you may have heard, Barnard is experiencing a significant housing shortage for the upcoming academic year. We currently have over 80 students for whom we have no vacant spaces in our residence halls. The combination of a higher yield rate, fewer housing cancellations, and a significantly higher number of housing applications have all contributed to our shortage this year.

Since many of the students who we are unable to house come from outside of the tri-state area, we are trying to create additional residence hall space to house as many of these students as possible. One way in which the College will accomplish this is by changing the occupancy of your Plimpton room from a single to a double room. We understand that this change is unexpected and may be difficult. After a thorough review of all other options, the College has decided that this change in Plimpton is the best way to accomplish our goal of housing as many students for the Fall as possible.

Under these circumstances, we would like to offer you the opportunity to locate a friend to move into the double with you. To do so, you will need to follow these steps:

1. Identify someone who is both a current Barnard student with a room assignment for the Fall in a Barnard residence hall (ex. one of your current suitemates). Note: CU students are not eligible.

2. Both you and this other students will need to email housing@barnard.edufrom your Barnard email account no later than 8am this Monday, August 13 to state in writing that you both wish for that student to move into the corner double with you. We cannot process a move request without receiving an email from both students.

If we do not hear from you (and a friend) before 8am this Monday, August 13, we will assign someone from our Wait List to your room and provide your new roommate’s name and email address via email prior to the start of the academic year.

In recognition of the inconvenience the conversion your room to a double has caused, you will be charged a discounted rate of $3000 (vs.$4120 for a multiple) for your room this Fall. If you locate a BC student with a current room assignment to move into the double with you, that student will be charged the special rate of $3000 as well. If you have already paid the full price for a single ($4740), the difference in price will be credited back to your student account within the next few weeks. If you have set up a payment plan, you can contact the Bursar Office to adjust your monthly payment amount.

Should you decide instead to live off campus and cancel your housing, you may avoid the $1000 cancellation fee by submitting a Housing Cancellation Form (http://barnard.edu/reslife/policies/housing/cancellations) before 8am on Monday, August 13. Any cancellation form received after that date/time will result in the $1000cancellation fee.

The College is making this change to Plimpton corner rooms on a permanent basis and Plimpton will be available for 6-person groups starting at 2013 Room Selection this Spring.

Thank you for helping us to deal with this unexpected and difficult situation. We greatly appreciate your understanding and cooperation. If you have questions, please email housing@barnard.edu.

— Barnard Residential Life & Housing