Victoria McKenzie/Winonan

“I’m broke” is a phrase commonly uttered on college campuses. Often, with the cost of tuition, housing and living expenses, not much money remains for most college students.

The Winona State housing office might be making a change that could be of big concern to incoming freshmen and other students planning to live on campus. They proposed to raise housing rates by 2.25 percent.

The proposal went to the Student Senate, where a discussion was held about the effects the change would have on students and student housing.

The purpose of the raise in housing costs is for building maintenance. Many of the residence halls need to be updated, especially Lourdes Hall on West Campus. The housing office believes if they improve the quality, on-campus housing will become more appealing.

Although many senate members agreed the residence halls need to be updated, not all of them believe it should be students’ responsibility to pay for the improvement. One argument in the discussion was, for example, a renter’s monthly bill would not increase if his or her apartment needed reconstruction. In this case, it was argued the landlord would cover the costs, so why should on-campus housing be treated differently?

Many senators were also concerned about the fact that housing prices are already very steep. Even though the housing office intends for their proposal to increase housing availability, many senators were worried the increase in costs may actually deter students from living on campus.

Winona State student Amber Schones plans to live on campus during all of the years she attends college here. She said she believes the updates on the dorms are unnecessary, and students would sacrifice renovations for cheaper housing.

Schones said, “As long as I have a bed to lay on and heat, I don’t really care.”

After discussing the different sides to the proposal, Student Senate voted down the proposal, but the vote was close. Eight senators voted against the proposal, seven voted for it, and four abstained.

Regardless of the vote, the housing office can still go through with their plans to increase the cost of housing if they choose to do so.

“It says a lot that [Student Senate] shut it down because [Student Senate] represents the student body,” said Samantha Schwanke, a senior senator.

The next step for the housing office is to decide if they want to revise their plan and propose it again to Student Senate, in hopes that they approve it. Or, they may go ahead with their plan without the Senate’s approval.