FEB 26, 2025 | NEWS | By Sydney McGarr
The Colorado College housing department is once again under fire.
Last week, The Catalyst exclusively reported that housing was redoing its selection process following student outrage about time slot assignments.
The newly assigned time slots opened Monday, Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. At least 10 students, who asked not to be named out of fear of retaliation and to preserve relationships with the housing office, said they were unable to select apartments by their time slots of 3:30 p.m. and later.
The Catalyst obtained multiple student emails to housing in which students complained of “algorithm issues” and “glitches” in the selection system.
One email from a student to Housing and Residential Experience Director Samantha Soren stated that the housing department’s front desk coordinator, Lisa Smith, told students that there had been a “glitch.” The student said she had also been told “that there were potentially apartments that had not been filled yet that could not be seen in the housing portal during the selection window [on Monday].”
According to the student, the housing department then assigned her a five-person apartment on Tuesday morning after she complained in person at the housing office.
On Tuesday afternoon, roughly two-dozen students cycled through the housing office in Bemis Hall with various complaints and left in various stages of dissatisfaction.
Residential Life Coordinator Nathalie Rowell asked students who claimed to be impacted by the “glitch” to add their names and phone numbers to a list. When students on the list asked about next steps, she told them that they would have to wait to hear from someone who works in a higher rank within the department.
Two reporters for The Catalyst witnessed at least one group of roommates with a 2:30 p.m. selection time on Tuesday acquire an apartment a day after all apartments had been claimed to be unavailable.
The issues have implications beyond just physical housing.
At least one student wrote in an email to the housing office that they believed what was happening was unfair because of the way that it can impact meal plans.
Students who live in traditional residence halls and small houses are required to be on the full meal plan, which costs $6,392 per year.
Many rising juniors claim to have been left with only traditional residence hall and small house options and are unwilling to pay for the full meal plan for a third academic year.
In the past two weeks, housing officials have not responded to multiple in person requests for interviews and multiple written requests for comment from The Catalyst. The last attempt to reach them was on the afternoon of Feb. 24.
That doesn’t mean the housing department is not responding to students directly.
In at least one email that The Catalyst has reviewed, Soren has said that the department is aware of ongoing issues and is in the process of reaching out to students that may have been affected.
The Catalyst plans to continue following this story. Have something to say about Housing? Email s_mcgarr2023@coloradocollege.edu.