UC San Diego graduate students call for rent strike

Graduate students at the University of California, San Diego are calling for a rent strike in response to increased campus housing costs that are set to take effect this fall, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Rents will increase for graduate-school housing this fall and in some cases will be $500 or $1,000 higher per month than current rates, according to the newspaper.

“The university puts out a lot of messaging around diversity, equity and inclusion, but when it comes to putting your money where your mouth is and making it affordable, then we don’t see it,” Casey Meehan, who lives on campus and is pursuing a doctorate in computer science, told the Union-Tribune.

A spokeswoman for the campus, Leslie Sepuka, told the newspaper in an email that “while the one-time rate adjustment will increase rental rates, on-campus rental rates will continue to be more favorable than the local rental market.”

-Michael Burke