Volume 67, Issue 3

IHP: Independent Housing Problem

by Yonatan Miller

With student enrollment at an all-time high, the three Wilf Campus dormitories – Morgenstern, Muss, and Rubin – are filled to capacity.  Students now worry not about which dorm they will be placed in but whether they will be placed in the dorms at all. With more residents than ever before, the Independent Housing Program (IHP), continues to isolate and frustrate a significant number of Yeshiva College and Sy Syms undergraduates.

IHP has made the transformation from a temporary housing solution to a permanent residence plan for Yeshiva.  Nearly one quarter of all Yeshiva undergraduates live in IHP apartments, not to mention the handful who live either in the Strenger dormitory or in non-IHP apartments or who commute.

The apartments, while offering certain advantages such as increased living space and private bathrooms, have caused uproar again this year.  To begin with, many tenants feel like they are not part of the “dorm-life” experience and additionally worry that walking to their apartments in one of the worst neighborhoods of New York City often poses a significant threat to their safety. The main issue of discontent, however, has been the lack of a Yeshiva Network connection in the apartments.

Some tenants have gone so far as to pay out of pocket anywhere from $40-$70 per-month for a cable modem or DSL connections.  The administration has not offered to assist students in their payment for these services.  Others are forced to hook up their phone lines – which is almost taboo in the dorms nowadays with the advent of cell phones – for the sole purpose of using a slow dial-up connection.

While many students specifically requested an IHP and are satisfied with the accommodations, the attitude amongst most students who were placed there “against their will” is generally negative.  Aaron Brody, a first year Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary student now living in the apartments, lived in the dorms for two years.  “Living in the dorm was an essential part of my college experience,” said Brody.  “Now that I live in an apartment, I really appreciate the dorms.”

It isn’t only the lack of Ethernet that irks many tenants.  Daniel Teitelbaum, a Sy Syms School of Business senior, was placed in IHP last year, and made sure to secure a return to the dorms this year.  Teitelbaum told of the ceiling in his shower caving in, and of a terrible roach problem.  Although Teitelbaum had only praise for the Director of Housing, Ronald Lamb, he said that the shower problem took just too long to repair.  “The housing staff did a great job taking care of the problems, but too many problems occurred,” noted Teitelbaum.

Some minor setbacks have also upset students.  Unless IHP tenants fill out a special form at the Housing Office, they will not be notified if they receive packages.  The tens of notices about student opportunities, events and sales that plaster the dorm bulletin boards are noticeably absent from the apartment buildings, leaving IHP tenants to find out about events often after they have already missed them.

Only a handful of IHP residents are content with their accommodations.  “It’s so good,” one tenant noted. “But I want people to think that it’s bad so that I’ll be able to keep my spot.”  Cary Maister, a Yeshiva College sophomore said, “I’m very happy with IHP. I value the independence, the extra living space and, of course, the private bathroom.”  Maister added, however, “It’s irritating that I pay the same network fee as a dormitory resident while also needing to pay another fifty dollars a month for Internet access.”

IHP was created a number of years ago in direct response to the crowded dorms, which were already at their capacity, said Undergraduate Dean of Students, David Himber.  As for all the complaints about the apartments, “There are pluses and there are minuses [to being placed in the apartments], and it is the job of each student to decide what they are,” said Himber.  If there are indeed students who are so displeased with the apartments that they wish to move to the dorms, Himber added that there are a “number of beds” available in the dorms for such cases.  Himber understood the discontent regarding the lack of Ethernet, saying that those students “hit the nail on the head with the Ethernet issue.”

According to Lamb, 1081 students live on campus in Yeshiva housing (not including Strenger and RIETS).  The three dorms are filled to their capacity of 856 beds.  The remaining 225 students live in 61 undergraduate IHP apartments.  In other words, roughly one quarter of YC students live in the apartments, with all of the ramifications thereof.  Both Lamb and Himber stressed that while the dorms are filled to capacity, they are not overcrowded.

It isn’t just Yeshiva students who are up in arms about the apartments.  Married couples, and those expecting to get married find themselves with an increasingly shrinking pool of on-campus housing options.  One student considered himself lucky that he had a connection in one of the buildings, and was able to rent an apartment independent of Yeshiva.  Others, who haven’t had such luck, stand by helplessly as Yeshiva grabs apartments for the use of IHP as soon as they become available.

John Fisher, Director of Enrollment Management, understands the problem in intimate fashion – his department is directly responsible for the number of students admitted, which ultimately dictates housing demands.  Fisher stressed that while Yeshiva uses a “selective admission” process when admitting students, there is no quota (as of yet) as to how many students can be admitted.  If the institution continues to grow as it has been doing over the past few years, “We’re going to get close to facing an institutional decision as to whether to impose a quota,” said Fisher.

One who has many peers in the apartments can only help but notice that many IHP tenants fit a certain “profile.”  Many are returnees from Israel, often after staying for two years (or more) at one of the Israel Program yeshivos.  A closer look at the Yeshiva Housing application reveals that students are asked which yeshiva they attended in Israel, and for how many years.

Lamb confirmed this observation.  “Students returning from Shana Bet are among the population looked to for placement in IHP even if they didn’t specifically request it,” said Lamb.  “They are the best equipped to handle the extra independence offered by the apartments.”

What do you think? Click here to send a letter to the editors.
All content is copyright © Yeshiva University Commentator.