As a student who works to support myself, I find it extremely difficult to manage the additional financial burden imposed by the $200-$350 charge for staying on campus over the Christmas Break of the Fall Semester 2025 and early 2026. This extra fee is not just a number; it represents the challenge of staying fed and healthy during a period when students should be able to focus on rest and renewal between demanding academic terms.

For many students, like myself, this fee means making tough choices between necessities. Food, health, and well-being are compromised to simply afford the right to stay in our dorms. Living on campus shouldn't come with such an onerous surcharge, particularly when it impacts our ability to maintain employment over the break, an employment that many of us heavily rely on to pay tuition and day-to-day expenses.

Furthermore, this fee is unfairly biasing against students who do not have a home to go to for the holidays or for whom travel is not financially feasible. Access to campus housing shouldn't be subjected to additional charges at a time when students' resources are naturally stretched thinner and emotional support through community and proximity are most needed.

In fact, universities exist to support their students' academic and personal growth, not to levy extra fees that create unneeded barriers. Students who need to stay on campus over the break are often doing so out of necessity, not choice. This period should not break their financial stability or affect their academic performance due to undue stress about affording to remain on campus.

Let's call for a reconsideration of this policy. Instead of charging additional fees, universities could look into reallocating existing budgets to accommodate students during this period without passing extra costs onto them. The cheapest dorm at UAB is ~$3600 which is a lot of money already. It is absolutely ridiculous that we will have to pay $200-350 just to stay and also not have any privileges such as visitation with that. The inclusion and well-being of students during every point of their academic journey ought to be a priority.

We ask the university administration to remove this additional charge and explore alternative solutions that support student needs. By signing this petition, we support students in maintaining their right to affordable housing access and ask for a fair treatment of all students staying on campus during the Christmas Break 2025 and early 2026. Please sign and share this petition to help us bring about this important change.