‘It’s a little disrespectful’: Move out deadline adds to student stress

USC students living in university housing face a hard out on May 10 at 5 p.m., sparking added stress for students during finals.

The problem? Not everyone will be done with exams at that time, setting up some students for late fees and charges.

Most students with exemptions staying past May 10 will pay an extra $75 a night. However, Trojans without pre-approval will face steeper costs of $200.

The April 21 deadline to obtain an exemption is long gone, putting students like Osagie Anetor, a sophomore studying public relations and history, into a “really frustrating” bind.

“I don’t understand why the last day to move out is also the same day that people are having their finals,” Anetor said. “That doesn’t really work especially if you’re not from this side of the country.”

On May 10, Anetor has a final exam from 2-4 p.m. One hour later, USC expects him to be fully moved out.

In a statement to Annenberg Media, Christopher Pongsiglione, director of USC Housing, said exemptions are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

“Situations out of the students’ control are considered for exemption from the charges,” Ponsiglione said. “Situations that are for convenience and within the residents’ control are subject to the appropriate charge for late move out.”

USC Housing added that students with late exams or travel troubles won’t be charged for “reasonable extensions.”

However, the looming move out deadline has left residents juggling to figure everything out.

“I think the whole process was a little bit convoluted, they could have just given us until the end of the week to leave. I think that would have resolved a lot of these headaches,” sophomore animation and digital arts major Matt Sorgie said. “Why don’t they give me like a three day grace period so I can pack my things?”

On move out day, Sorgie will also be taking a final from 2-4 p.m. He lives across the country in Connecticut, so he filed for an extension.

But he’s not happy with the university’s policy.

“To be expected to just have all of our stuff ready to go the same exact day an hour after my final is done, I think it’s a little disrespectful,” Sorgie said. “It speaks to this running theme of USC just viewing their students as money makers rather than students.”

Nina Moothedath, a sophomore studying journalism, understands the university’s rules but described the deadline as “inconsiderate.”

“I looked at that timeframe and I was like — it’s not happening,” Moothedath said.

Like other students, Moothedath has a May 10 final between 2-4 p.m. She scrambled for an extension and, luckily, won’t have to pay.

Moothedath said she was worried about putting a “burden” on her parents to take time off work and move her back home to the Bay Area.

“It was stressful to know there was nothing I could do to make that better, it was in the hands of [the university],” Moothedath said. “It should be a little bit more on them to make sure that it works out.”

Exempted students living in university housing must move out by May 13.