Daemen residents can expect new housing deposit policies starting this year. These changes are represented in the new $200 deposit that is due on Friday, March 4. This is a $100 increase from recent years. 

The Director of Housing and Residence Life Danielle Weaver offered a response to the new implements.

“The change was made to have a more accurate reflection going into housing selection of how many students we would actually need to accommodate,” Weaver said. 

This change is a direct correlation to housing issues that arose this past summer.

“Last year we had 525 deposits and we lost a significant amount of those people over the summer,” Weaver said.

Prior to residents leaving and having their deposits returned, the evidence suggested that one of the buildings would have rooms double up in occupants. Subsequently, building 71 was doubled, which Weaver offers as another motive for making the change. 

Now, students can only have their deposit returned before May 1. However, there are three exceptions to this rule: a serious injury or death to the student or member of their family, withdrawal from the institution or partaking in either a class or internship that takes the student away from the campus.  

Weaver was supported in her decision by Dr. Greg Nayor, the Vice President of Student Affairs. The pair reviewed 15 other institutions comparable to Daemen and found that the College’s deposit was still lower than the average, which was $237.50. 

“We looked at local institutions like UB, SUNY Buffalo State, D’Youville, Niagara, and others, as well as institutions that were similar in size and composition as us from other areas.  We wanted to make apples-to-apples comparisons,” Nayor said.

As to the due date for the deposit, Weaver allocated a date that would best accommodate planning schedules for future housing determinations such as resident assistant decision letters, lotto numbers, and apartment selection. 

“That’s something to take into consideration, that I need a little bit of time to plan so I have to kind of work backwards when I schedule when things are due,” Weaver said. 

For now, the new deposit price will hold steady. There are no plans to raise the price in the immediate future. 

Both Weaver and Nayor feel that the price increase is a positive change.

“At the end of the day, it does not add more to what students owe for housing; it all gets subtracted from their bill.  But, it should enable us to have more secure numbers earlier and allow the College to better assign students to units that way. What it does is it will make them be sure about their decision before holding a spot that they do not intend to take.,” Nayor said.

However, some residents have uneasy feelings about the change and have voiced their views on the lack of information surrounding the change.

Yecenia Bravo, a sophomore, thought that the price increase was due to the upcoming construction on the Den project. Once informed, she had a better view of the situation but still felt that the change may cause problems for some students.

“It affects me by the possibility of my roommates and how many maybe would rather live off campus or on Campus Manor. Although we had enough time to get the money, there isn’t many notifications or, I guess you could say, reminders about the deposit,” she said.

Only time will tell as to whether or not these changes will either allow for a more accurate housing count or positive student response.