Affordable housing, or parking convenience? This is a puzzling question coming to students throughout the district.

This spring break, College of San Mateo students saw the closure of the Lot B parking lot. The lot is one of the largest on campus, and serves as direct parking for CSM’s Health and Wellness building as well as the Athletic Center.

The closure came suddenly, as development for district-wide student housing is now set to begin after roughly four years of planning. While losing a parking lot can be irritating, especially one used for such a wide variety of campus activities, the change is for the better.

The project is maintaining high hopes, with an $86 million budget and promises of affordability for the students who need it most. According to The Daily Journal, housing will primarily be prioritized towards first-generation low-income students, facing housing insecurity and homelessness.

In a district where 58% of students are housing insecure, with another 6% homeless, it seems only right to dedicate state and district funds towards giving these students better access.

The effects of housing insecurity alone on a student can be significantly detrimental to their education. A study by Cindy Leung concluded that students facing insecurity are more likely to have poorer mental health and lower mean GPA than their counterparts. It is unfair that these students should suffer simply because of their economic state; they deserve a fair chance at success.

The arguments surrounding this project lie mostly in the parking lot itself.

As stated previously, Lot B is used primarily by those in the Health and Wellness building. This means students within programs such as nursing, dental assisting, cosmetology, kinesiology, and various athletic programs now have to find a new place to park. 

Even so, students must ask themselves, which would be more of an inconvenience, not having a familiar parking spot, or not having a home to drive back to? This is the reason the project needed the land.

A more troubling dispute came from the aforementioned Athletic Center. The center, hosting a wide variety of classes in yoga, conditioning, and pilates, also features a large pool. The pool is advertised to all ages within the community, specifically the younger and elderly group.

The loss of a direct lot to the Athletic Center will affect many students and visitors alike, however, the benefits of the housing development are glaring. The new building will provide 316 beds to students across all three colleges. This means no matter which school you attend there will be an opportunity for a stable living environment. And for students affected by the change, lot A sits right next to B, and there are still numerous other parking options across the campus.

While needing to find a new parking spot may be annoying, the gains of affordable housing significantly outweigh the cost.