WATCH: Students in limbo amid campus housing crisis

He boarded a train with bags ''full of hope'' on a 1‚467km journey to study computer science‚ *but Howard Collins goes to bed hungry and sleeps among boxes at the University of the Western Cape.

Collins‚ who left his family in Pretoria four months ago to start studying‚ lulls himself to sleep by the flickering green emergency lights of a university building he and about 39 other students occupy illegally – because they cannot find accommodation.

They call it the Robert Sobukwe Residence Hall‚ after the founder of the Pan Africanist Congress‚ because his ideals have ''empowered'' them.

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Collins said he was ''eager'' to move into a residence at UWC.

Prior to his journey‚ he was in regular contact with the university. But he was never contacted by the ResLife office – a division of UWC's Residential Services – despite indicating that he needed accommodation.

What he and many other students were unaware of was a gross lack of student housing. His initial interactions with ResLife ''shattered'' his expectations and he became a homeless teenager.

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''I showed up with my bags‚ it being my first time in the Western Cape. I didn’t even have a friend of a friend in this city‚ so I had to go to private accommodations‚ but it obviously didn’t work out‚'' said the 19-year-old.

Because his family is poor‚ they cannot help him. Then again‚ he has yet to tell his parents because he does not want to burden them. Many students agreed‚ saying it is not necessary to trouble their families. However‚ a 20-year-old first-year‚ also from Pretoria‚ said he often spoke to his mother.

''I sent my mother pictures. When I spoke with her the first time‚ I could hear in her voice how hurt she was. She told me that as soon as I get the chance‚ I need to come home. She begged me‚'' he said.

Then‚ near the end of February‚ Collins and the other students had had enough. They broke into the office of ResLife‚ snapping electronic locks and invading the offices.

When staff arrived for work in the morning‚ the space was no longer theirs. Many employees have yet to retrieve their belongings – it sits unmoved next to the makeshift beds.

''We apologise to res services‚ because their stuff has been stolen and damaged as well. They expect us to know who did it but we honestly have no idea‚'' one occupier said.

In its current state‚ the office of ResLife at UWC looks more like a battered complex in a war zone than a dormitory. Broken windows and old graffiti stand out among rows of neat student residences.

The second floor lounge has been burned out and yellow caution tape flutters out of a hole in the building.

While this hardly seems to be a place fit for human occupation‚ these students – representing a range of class years‚ majors‚ and identities – are happy in their new home.]

Now mid-May‚ the already damaged building is set to be condemned‚ and the interior has begun to mirror the damaged exterior – a target of the Fees Must Fall protesters last year.

Control panels and switches hang from their sockets‚ holes have been made in the off-white drywall‚ and furniture has been broken apart in an attempt to repurpose it.

Waiting room chairs‚ boxes‚ and desk frames now serve as makeshift beds. Stale food lines old catering dishes on the desk of the former secretary. Cooking is a nightmare as smoke sensors sound at the slightest detection of steam or smoke.

''We don’t have proper food to cook. We often go to bed starving and when we do have food‚ your stomach can’t take the noodles or bread anymore‚ '' a 19-year-old student said.

Boxes and suitcases line the hall. Most of the power has been cut‚ and the green emergency lights are the only thing illuminating dark hallways. But the students have made a home out of this condemned complex.

''We feel like we are a family‚ because we share everything. If something happens to one of us‚ we fight for them. Some of the relationships I have formed here will be lifelong‚'' another student said.

However‚ they have options‚ according to UWC spokesman Luthando Tyhalibongo.

Every student was provided with a list of potential residences that meet set standards established by UWC.

Several students said they tried private accommodations‚ but claim that their makeshift rooms were infinitely safer.

''My laptop was stolen at the private residence I lived at‚ and my friend was stabbed. Only then‚ after she provided a detailed police report‚ did UWC give her on-campus housing‚'' a second-year student said.

Students claim they have been overlooked because they often see rooms allocated to other students. Since they took up residence in the office block‚ over 100 students have allegedly been placed.

But university officials say they are ineligible.

''The categories of students occupying Res Life vary and include among others those not eligible for residence‚ in line with the residence admission policy‚ those on the waiting list anticipating some space availability following the lapse of the time period for students not taking up their placements‚ and students who have left private accommodation due to academic performance and lack of continued funding‚'' Tyhalibongo said.

Many of the students shrugged these restrictions off‚ saying‚ ''we have no choice but to stay‚ if the university doesn’t make something happen''.

The Department of Higher Education did not respond to questions regarding the occupation. In 2015 they estimated there is a shortage of 216‚000 beds at campuses across the country and by 2030 an extra 400‚000 beds would be needed.

The university's Student Representative Council is currently in the process of finding temporary homes for the students as negotiations continue with UWC. It remains to be seen when they will be placed.

*Not his real name

-TMG Digital/TimesLIVE