UMass Boston students unsure of living situation after burst pipe in dorm forces them into hotel

A week after being displaced from their dorms due to a burst pipe, some University of Massachusetts Boston students are unsure where they are meant to be staying or if they will be reimbursed for their emergency accommodations. 

Student Katerina Vatkin said she emailed UMass asking for housing after water began leaking into her dorm from beneath the walls, but did not hear back right away. So she and a few other students got a hotel room, rather than sleep in a common area on campus. 

"We are all down like $300," says Vatkin, "The only thing keeping us from the street is our hotel room. We could all use the $300."

She explained that she was later offered a place to stay at UMass's Charles River campus, but some students were turned away because the dorm only had 50 rooms available at the time.

UMass Boston denied her claims and said that it had a plan for the students since day one. The school said it started busing students the same night the pipe burst. 

"We have 190 beds in that area to be occupied. We have not occupied more than 134 based on the response from the students. That was an immediate response that night," says Karen Ferrer-Muniz, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs at UMass Boston, "All students were given the option of being located in that campus, but some students chose to be with friends, families, and some at down the street in hotels."  

Vatkin was recently told she needed to move all of her stuff out so the school could continue to access and work on the damage from the pipe. She and her classmates are still unsure if they will be reimbursed for their hotel stay.

UMass Boston said it has activated its emergency fund, which provides impacted students with $1,000 to help with immediate needs related to accommodations or property loss.

"When they receive this amount of money, they have all the freedom to write down what they are using it for, what is it that they need. The usage is for them," said Ferrer-Muniz.

A large donation room is also active on campus, with clothes, toiletries, and food for students in need. 

The dorm itself is owned by a private company and all reimbursements will have to go through the insurance company of that third party, according to Ferrer-Muniz. The dorm does not have a set date to reopen, as the school is still doing assessments with the owner and the state.