Passing Down Apartments: Tradition or Privilege?

Even as days get longer and beach classes more frequent, first-year students remain stressed with one thing on their mind: housing. 

In Menton, there is a long-held tradition of "passing down" apartments, where second-year students give their landlord's contact information to a specific first-year student. For some, this means simply transferring a phone number to a close friend. But for the most coveted apartments, it can often mean weeks of cooking dinners, negotiations, and other mild — or extreme — bribery efforts to beat out the other candidates. Because of the sparse availability of multi-person apartments, most candidates are in groups of three or more students, forced to place all hopes of living together into these competitions.

The process is a cherished campus tradition for those who come out victorious. Meanwhile, less lucky individuals are left scrambling for last-minute solutions. 

One student is still looking for a three-person apartment. She and her potential roommates — two other students — have competed for multiple apartments but have lost out to other students. The process started fun for her and her roommates but quickly turned sour after they lost all their prospective apartments. Now, they are battling the stress of apartment hunting with preparing for finals. She said that being left in this situation is frustrating, especially when it feels like they “played the game right” but were not rewarded. 

Other times, second-years lose control over the process when their landlord chooses a non-Sciences Po tenant or when someone intercepts the contact information from third-party services like Vrbo or Airbnb, bypassing the traditional system. Students often rely on spacious apartments to host association meetings, parties, and other events, meaning losing the ability to choose apartment candidates can limit the options available to the detriment of campus life. 

The value of apartments as venues support the argument that the practice of “passing down” is integral to preserving campus life; if the next tenants cannot fulfill the responsibility of hosting regularly — be it fundraisers, association meetings, or parties — the entire campus and the close-knit “ummah spirit” will be negatively affected. 

Some argue that this process privileges students on campus who are closer to apartment owners, whether through i-fams or friend groups, making the process exclusive. However, others defend the practice because anyone can ask for an apartment or become friends with the current tenants.  

Other students have argued that the struggle to find apartments points to a more significant issue: lack of Crous housing in Menton. A Crous building would ensure affordable accommodation and provide an inexpensive university restaurant. Menton is currently the only campus without a Crous cafeteria, but it is also smaller and more isolated meaning fewer affordable options for students. Combined with the tourist prices of the Cote d’Azur, these factors make budgeting a unique challenge. 

Although the Menton campus is supposedly getting a cafeteria this semester, it is not Crous funded, and students have criticized the resulting high prices for the food. The little aid covering the ever-rising cost of living, rent and tuition forces students to work alongside their studies, which many argue disadvantages them from achieving their full academic potential. Likewise, securing housing with a constrained budget without a referral is more stressful for these students because they have limited alternative options. 

Passing down apartments has become a school norm in the campus' short history. However, the number of students who chose to work around the traditional system this year may indicate an emerging cultural shift. Moreover, it points to a greater struggle for systemic change to better support university living.