ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Students at Flagler College are planning a protest Friday afternoon over housing concerns they say are leaving some upperclassmen scrambling for affordable living options.
The demonstration is expected to take place on campus in St. Augustine, where frustration has been building over a policy requiring freshmen and sophomores to live on campus.
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Students organizing the protest say the requirement has reduced housing availability for juniors and seniors, forcing many to search for off-campus options in a tight and increasingly expensive rental market.
“It feels like the policy was put in place without a realistic plan for how it would impact the rest of the student body,” one student said in a statement shared with News4JAX. “Students are trying to balance academics, athletics, and jobs, and this added uncertainty about where they will live is making it even more difficult.”
College officials, however, say no student who applied for on-campus housing by the deadline is without a place to live.
In a statement, Vice President for Marketing and Communications Carol Branson said every student who submitted a housing application and deposit by March 22, after an initial Feb. 9 deadline, has been assigned on-campus housing.
“Every student who applied and deposited for on-campus housing by Sunday, March 22, 2026, has been placed,” Branson said, noting some students were briefly waitlisted due to higher-than-expected demand but have since been assigned rooms.
Branson also said the college is not over capacity and is continuing to manage room assignments as enrollment is finalized. She added that the $500 housing deposit is not forfeited and is applied to students’ account balances.
“At this time, every student who applied and deposited … has been assigned a bed,” she said.
Despite those assurances, some students say concerns remain about long-term housing availability and affordability, particularly for those who may not have secured housing early or who prefer to live off campus.
The protest aims to bring attention to those concerns and push for additional housing solutions or policy adjustments.
The situation reflects broader housing pressures in St. Augustine, where limited inventory and rising costs have made it more difficult for renters, including college students, to find affordable housing.
Students say they hope Friday’s protest will prompt further dialogue with college leaders and lead to clearer plans to ensure stable housing options for all class years.