Living on campus during breaks should not be a financial burden for students because it places money over a student’s well-being and puts homeless students at more of a disadvantage. 

Students already spend thousands of dollars on room and board; it is excessive to make them fork over more money to remain during spring or winter break.

There are a plethora of reasons a student may choose to live in their dorm during a break: their family is out of state, they cannot afford to travel back home or they simply prefer it.

These fees also pay no mind to underprivileged students — students who do not have the luxury of coming home because of poverty or toxic family dynamics. 

During winter break, students in double rooms are charged $450 if they choose to stay, and students in private rooms are charged $635.

Spring break is more forgiving: $145 for double rooms and $220 for private.

You can remain here for free free during breaks if you live in a UCA apartment complex, Donaghey Hall or Greek Village — another slap in the face for students living in Residence Halls.

This is the nature of most colleges: students living on campus are required to move out during a break, likely to save money on gas and electricity bills, reduce unruly behavior or perform cleaning and maintenance. 

However, just because this is a standard practice does not mean UCA should follow suit. 

According to washingtonpost.com, the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice surveyed 86,000 college students nationwide. 

They found that 56% of students reported housing insecurity, and 17% said they were homeless the previous year. 

With this in mind, it is alarming to imagine a homeless student couch surfing or staying in their vehicle because they did not have a house to go back to or money to spare.

Plus, the weight of exams and homework before a break is already grueling enough for a student scrambling to move out. 

Numerous colleges have worked out ways to combat this problem.

West Chester University in Pennsylvania utilizes its Promise Program, which provides homeless students year-round housing, including during breaks, on campus, according to washingtonpost.com. 

This program also gives students a single point of contact, meaning they are assigned one person or department to handle inquiries and requests.

Students at the University of California at Los Angeles founded Bruin Shelter, a student-run shelter for homeless students at UCLA or Santa Monica College.

While putting an end to the cost of staying is the most evident answer to this dire yet under-discussed issue, offering more resources to homeless students or students in general during breaks is a crucial step to phasing out the fees.

At the end of the day, whether a student is homeless or not is irrelevant to the question of if there should be a fee.

Any student in any situation should be allowed to live in the dorms over breaks they are paying almost $9,000 for. 

Universities have an impressive ability to implement fees that only half make sense and take advantage of students’ willingness to sacrifice money for education.