JUILLI-BARRED
Arts school shuts dorm for holidays
Some Juilliard students will be singing the blues this holiday season because, for the first time, the performing-arts school is closing its dorm during winter break.
The closure from Dec. 22 to Jan. 7 struck a low note with international students who can’t afford tickets home and are now scrambling to find housing.
“It’s out of line, inconsiderate and rude,” said Xu Cheng, 22, a fourth-year piano student from Shanghai.
“I thought I was going to be homeless,” he said. “I knew there was no way I could afford to go home for Christmas, and my parents wouldn’t be able to help out.”
After a plan to stay with a friend on Long Island fell through, Cheng was left with one option: reach out to a 70-year-old acquaintance he only just met.
“Fortunately, he’s willing to help me out,” Cheng said. “But not everyone is so lucky.”
Second-year violinist Jieming Tang’s only choice is to stay with a pal — in Cleveland.
“My friends are all going home over the break, so I couldn’t stay with them,” said Tang, 20, of Hefei, China. “After brainstorming with my parents, we realized going to Ohio was what I’d have to do.”
In past years, the Lincoln Center school let students live in the Meredith Willson Residence Hall for $150 a week. But this year, it is shutting down to “address necessary facility issues” and because, in the past, only about 15 students chose to stay, said school spokeswoman Alexandra Day.
Juilliard offered a list of housing options, such as the YMCA and hostels, but they cost more than $150, and some students felt nervous bunking in the flophouses.
“I wouldn’t feel at ease staying at places like that for extended periods of time with an expensive instrument,” Tang said.
Others felt the dorm’s high cost — $15,990 a year for a double room and $19,970 for a single — warranted keeping it open.
“We’re already paying enough money, we should be able to stay during the Christmas break,” said Lúa Mayenco, 19, a second-year dance student from Madrid.
Students launched a petition on Saturday to overturn the closure.