Quinnipiac University officials announced that it will implement triples — three people in a current two-person room — in The Village residence hall, per an email sent to rising sophomores at 4:46 p.m. Monday.

The email, sent one week before housing selection begins for sophomores, comes after Residential Life moved the first-year housing selection date to April 14 and 16 without explanation. 

“In the past three years, we have seen an increase in the number of students submitting housing contracts,” said the email sent by Melissa Karipidis, the associate director of housing. “This year we had a much higher percentage of 93.4% compared to 88% of first-year students wishing to be in housing, resulting in 100 more students than anticipated submitted contracts.”

In addition to triples being added to The Village, students also have the option to create a triple room in Hill. Residence halls including Perlroth, Larson and Troup, will remain the same. 

The email also included a new date for a “Roommate Social for rising sophomores,” an event that gives students an opportunity to find potential roommates. The first roommate social occurred on April 3, the same day that the housing selection dates were pushed back.

“I first found out (about the housing change) through the email that was sent that my roommate got,” said David Holtzman, a first-year finance major. “We first thought it was a joke or that something was wrong, but clearly not. Once I got the email and read it initially, I was a bit angry since we were planning on probably living in Village.”

Students who are assigned a triple room will receive a $500 reduction to their costs per semester, because “(Quinnipiac Housing) recognize(s) that the timing of this change may be challenging,” as per the email sent on Monday.

“Where did they come up with this number,” said Michelle Siemionkowicz, a first-year biology major. “I just don’t think $500 is enough for an everyday inconvenience.”

Many students shared the same sentiment.

“$500 a semester is kind of a slap in the face,” Holtzman said. “I feel like at least $2000 for the full year, $1000 a semester would have been correct since, at least personally, it feels like it significantly lowers your quality of living.”

Within two hours of the email, a “Reverse Housing Department’s Decision on Village Room Assignment Policy” petition was created on Change.org by “Julia M,” a possible student at Quinnipiac. As of 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday April 8, it has received 743 signatures.

The class of 2028 enrolled a total of 1,917 first-year students, according to the university’s website. 

Flyers with a QR code for the petition have been posted around campus, particularly around the first-year residence hall.

“This sudden and unanticipated shift has left many students in a position where they must scramble to find an additional roommate to fill the third bed, causing undue stress and inconvenience,” the petition states online and on the flyer. “Instead, the housing department should take up the responsibility of assigning the third bed themselves, rather than forcing students to scramble and find a roommate.”

Supporters can sign the petition, and can create a comment after doing so.

“This isn’t something that sneaks up on you, they knew this would be a problem when they took in the numbers they did, and they decided to change this AFTER we paid and signed our contracts. With basically no time left,” commented Reed, a supporter of the petition. “The housing process has been nothing but a mess, and this made it a thousand times more stressful.”

Though many students on campus are familiar with The Village consisting of six residents per suite, this wasn’t always the case. Before the coronavirus pandemic, The Village suites held seven residents. 

“From a future alumni who lived in a triple in village the conditions are horrible. Feels like you’re living in an attic. Definitely should not go back to a triple,” said Alyssa, a student who signed the petition. 

“The triple room is going to suck,” said Ethan Higgins, a first-year health science major. “The rooms aren’t really that big in general.”

Before the email was sent on Monday, Higgins was confident knowing who he wanted to live with and which dorm he wanted. But now, himself and his future roommates are trying to find a new solution with these housing changes.  

“If they did it (earlier), gave a heads up before that it was like seven instead of like (six) before the housing process happened, it would be a little bit easier to accept it,” Higgins said. “But since they’re throwing it a week before the actual housing (selection) is going to happen, it’s  just going to cause chaos amongst people selecting rooms.”

Siemionkowicz is also struggling to determine her next steps with this sudden change.

“We had a group of six, and we have a pretty high (lottery) number,” Siemionkowicz said. “So we knew we weren’t gonna get Hill, so we wanted (The) Village anyway, so since we wanted (The) Village, this is kind of annoying.”

“We are not making any additional comments at this time,” John Morgan, the university’s vice president of public relations, wrote.