We want the administration of WCU to understand that privatization is hurting students and should be reversed immediately.

The university decided to privatize student housing, doubling the cost of on-campus housing. In 2013 WCU agreed to limit the use and amount of affordable university-owned housing as it transitions to “affiliated” housing at twice the price. The astronomical rise in student housing costs was not inevitable. While President Fiorentinos’ remarks would lead some to believe that the current state of our Housing Crisis was sparked by rental rates or the Covid-19 Pandemic, we know that this is a fallacy. During an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, WCU President, Christopher Fiorentino stated that, “Rental rates have been increasing, so all of a sudden this very stable pattern that we’ve been observing for many, many years has shifted on us, and of course all of this happened coming out of the pandemic,” Fiorentino said, adding that “2019 was our last normal year.” Since then we have either been forced into affiliated University Student Housing at a sizable increase in cost or to seek expensive off-campus housing. This year, you denied countless students access to the affordable traditional on-campus housing option. In addition to the weight of final exams, you informed us that homelessness threatened our academic careers at WCU. 9, you denied hundreds of your students access to a basic Human Right. Dear West Chester University Administration,

West chester university foundation