ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, August 17, 1996 TAG: 9608190033
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: ALLISON BLAKE STAFF WRITER
Are you a Virginia Tech student looking for a place to live this school year? Call 231-6906.
Folks from Tech are asking for information to try to get a handle on the Blacksburg housing crunch, the talk of the town for weeks now.
"The only way that we think we're going to know how many people are without housing is to ask," Tech spokesman Larry Hincker said.
Record enrollment expected to go over 24,000 is driving the shortage, aided by a record freshman class of near 5,200.
While the university guarantees housing for freshmen, "it's not normal for us to know about their off-campus housing situation," he said. But this year's anticipated shortage has prompted Tech to become involved in the housing hunt.
Earlier this week, Tech administrators got together to brainstorm ideas to help students without places to live. Hincker said the ideas include running a shuttle bus from Radford, where there are still apartments available, to putting students up in a vacant motel. The Blacksburg motel has been closed because the state Department of Transportation is buying the property for the proposed Alternative 3A right-of-way.
But "in order for us to get serious about those things, we have to find out whether there's 50 or 500" people without housing, Hincker said.
Tech's Offcampus Housing Center has been advertising for available rooms for a week now, and requests for rooms are even popping up in church bulletins.
Up to 250 international students expected any day, who arrive in town with limited English skills and no place to stay, are of particular concern to Tech officials.
The dorms are bursting. A buyout offer originally aimed at freeing up 100 beds recently was extended. Now they're looking for 65 more men to depart, said Ed Spencer, assistant vice president for student affairs.
"At this point, we plan to keep the buyout going until we have emptied out the RAs' rooms," he said, referring to the 65 men who will be rooming with residence hall advisers until they can find new homes.
Meantime, Hincker said those students who call the housing hot line, which is actually the Squires Student Center Information Desk, should be ready to provide the following information:
nAre you looking for housing?
nDo you have a car?
nAre you willing to live in Christiansburg or Radford?
nAre you willing to live with a roommate?
nHave you already called the information line?
The phone line will be open from 9 a.m. to midnight on Saturday, 10 a.m. to midnight on Sunday, and 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
Students seeking a home also should check the Off-Campus Housing Center in Squires. Local homeowners or landlords who may have a room can contact the center at 231-3466, or vtoch@vt.edu.
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