Ill-planned, expensive and jealous are just a few feelings some University of Kentucky students have toward the new “Tri-It” dorm rooms.
Freshmen Molly Arnold and Natalie Nelson said they met over Instagram and share a room in their Tri-It dorm, alongside a third roommate who has her own bedroom.
“I was upset, I’m not gonna lie, and I know they just had a large class size, and they didn’t have enough housing for it, but at the same time, I don’t know why I have to pay the effects for it,” Arnold said. “Also the Tri-It rooms are way too expensive for what we are getting.”
Resembling a standard two-person suite, the Tri-It offers a single-person room with a full XL bed, desk and closet and a two-person room with the same amount of space but with a set of bunk beds.
The desired bedroom styles are chosen by each student during their housing process but some students found themselves sharing one large, open space in converted residence hall study rooms.
UK announced the Tri-It spaces in the spring of last year at a discounted price of $5,107 for the single bedroom, single-person room and $4,293 for the single bedroom, two-person rooms per semester. In comparison, a standard two-bedroom suite in most dorms costs $5,375 per semester, according to the UK Housing website.
The Tri-It rooms are offered to all students but have been added as an option as the university has seen an influx of incoming classes over recent years.
“Living on campus is becoming a more popular option for students who are returning, this is a good challenge to have, and this was a good solution I think. Like everything we do here, we’re gonna try and learn from it,” UK president Eli Capilouto said.
As someone who lived in an on-campus dorm for two years, UK spokesperson and 1989 graduate Jay Blanton said the Tri-Its are a “hundred times better” and there is “no comparison” to his experience and the residence halls since 2011 and thereafter.
“We’ve done some research over the years, and we know that when students that live on campus, at least for that first year, their GPAs are higher, they do better in school, they connect more quickly with resources, they tend to form more connections with people on campus, foster social connections, all those good things,” Blanton said.
And despite those good intentions, some living in the three person suites have said they are feeling outraged, lied to and overwhelmed on what their living situation might look like for next year.
“It is not enough space for two people,” Arnold said. “This is a room built for one person and especially (for) two girls who both have a bunch of stuff, it’s definitely been hard trying to fit everything in here, especially our closet.”
Arnold said she remembers the beginning of her college search and how excited she was to have a two-bedroom dorm at UK. She said she completed her housing application in February after securing her desired room request but found out in late March that a Tri-It was to be her new dorm style.
“I felt like I was screwed over,” Arnold said.
Blanton said the university has already begun to notify incoming students about the spaces, benefits and the possibility of incentives.
Incoming students can expect a 3.75% price increase after recent approval at the Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 5, according to UKNOW. In regard to incentives, students can anticipate an additional $100 in flex dollars and $50 in credit for the UK Bookstore.
“We’ve looked in different ways to accommodate more and more students,” Blanton said. “When we built the resident halls, we also built all these community gathering spaces and classroom spaces, and we built some of those spaces with flexibility to modify them.”
While the university aimed to be successful with such rooms of flexibility, some roommates like out-of-state freshmen Kai Sanfilippo and Iain Ray said they were rather surprised to see their so-called Tri-It dorm was actually a converted study room.
Sanfilippo said he remembers being told about Tri-Its and how their room was originally a study room but transformed just a week before move-in. Ray, his roommate, said when moving in, it felt as if he was being moved into “boot camp.”
“There was nothing, just three beds (twin XL) lined up, and desks,” Ray said.
In addition to the furniture, Sanfilippo said there were also two TVs (one of which was broken) and a full bathroom. However, UK later supplied the students with blackout curtains to cover the windows, privacy dividers and a steel rack utilized as a closet.
“Me having my own room was a big part of me coming to the University of Kentucky. I always wanted to have my own room in college,” Sanfilippo said.
Both students said they are outraged with their housing situation on campus and urge the university to take better care of their current students.
“I get it, the university wants money just in general, but I think they should take better care of the people here, giving the money to come here … Maybe for future reference you should notify the people you are putting in a study room,” Sanfilippo said.
Blanton confirmed students were communicated with about the Tri-It spaces, as well as there being multiple social media posts and emails.
As of Dec. 15, 2023, however, the UK Housing website describes the “3-Person Modified 2-Bedroom Suite,” also known as the Tri-It spaces, as “One individual bedroom with a full-size XL bed, and a second bedroom with twin-size XL bunk beds. Semi-private bathroom, common area and granite countertops.”
Blanton said he could not confirm the breakdown specifically if the same communication was given about the converted study rooms.
For those who wanted to cancel their housing lease this year after finding out such information, Blanton said the university helped with doing so and did their best to work with students.
“We’re not going to be perfect though, but where things happen, we try to work with students and families to make it right,” Blanton said.
The university is expecting a similar incoming freshman class size of roughly 6,500 students and will continue to utilize the Tri-It rooms in about 30% of campus dorms with the exception of Boyd Hall and University Flats, according to Blanton.
Blanton could not confirm if the spaces will become a permanent housing option and said they’ll be assessed each year to determine their need despite some students’ opinions.
“…The fact they’re keeping this a thing next year, says a lot, especially since the Tri-It rooms are not fun, so I think that’s kind of showing a lot about the university and their housing by keeping the Tri-It rooms,” Arnold said.
