Rochester Institute of Technology announced their intention to close the only affordable housing option on campus, the Riverknoll apartments, after the Spring 2027 semester. There was no relocation, rebuilding, or financial compensation plan announced. This will displace several hundred students, as many as 400. It will also displace RIT's foodbank, FoodShare West.

There are myriad benefits Riverknoll provides to its tenants:

• Riverknoll is the only unfurnished housing option. This means tenants pay for their own furniture once, instead of perpetually renting it, as with furnished housing options. A student should have the duration of their entire degree for the furniture investment to pay off, however, the closure means students only get one more semester to do so. Many students will be forced to sell their furniture, causing emotional, financial and time-losses.

• Riverknoll has the cheapest rent by far, both in general and for single bedrooms. Paired with its superb walkability, Riverknoll is the best option for students who can't afford personal transportation to campus.

• A Riverknoll lease is renewable throughout a student's degree program, removing stress from the renewal process and expenses from relocation. Riverknoll provides affordable housing for students who decide to stay at RIT over the summer for personal reasons, employment, or education.

Riverknoll Tenants require the following demands met before the Spring 2027 semester ends.

1. Announce a comprehensive plan for the multi-year phasing-out of Riverknoll. Allow current Tenants the option to remain in their Riverknoll building for the 2027-2028 school year and ensure Riverknoll receives regular maintenance. This makes for a gradual transition and lessens the burden on RIT to rehouse hundreds of students during a housing crisis.

2. Ensure FoodShare West, currently housed inside Riverknoll, is relocated to a location where it can serve its hundreds of users to the same ability, and is operational before the end of the Spring 2027 semester.

3. Tenants who decide to move to alternative RIT housing will receive advanced housing selection rights.

4. Tenants will be offered guaranteed on-campus housing with comparable amenities (kitchen, unfurnished if desired, available singles) until completion of their current degree type. Units currently furnished but selected by Tenants will be made unfurnished and renewable to accommodate Tenants' needs.

5. Tenants will receive compensation equal to the difference between 1) the 2026-2027 Riverknoll rate for their current RK room type, and 2) the rate for the alternative RIT housing option, or equal or lesser-priced off-campus housing option should the Tenant select non-RIT housing, valid if alternative housing if more expensive than Riverknoll’s 2026-2027 rate, each year until completion of their current degree type.

6. The first-year housing guarantee will remain; Riverknoll Tenants will not be placed into Residential Halls at the expense of Freshmen.

7. Transparency: Tenants do not know why this decision was made. Make RIT financial data and contracts public and accessible, including recommendations from RIT's private equity consultant Bain & Company. This ensures the largest group of university stakeholders—students, faculty, and staff—can independently verify the performance of the Board of Trustees, and ensure decisions like the closure of Riverknoll are truly in our best interest.

This is not the first time RIT has closed an affordable housing location: When Colony Manor was closed in 2019, tenants received 40% off any available RIT housing. With less available on-campus beds than in 2019, RIT must assist Riverknoll Tenants paying for more expensive off-campus housing.

It has been confirmed from various sources within RIT that the decision to close Riverknoll was not for health and safety purposes. Rather, the administration found it unprofitable to keep the most affordable housing option open!

Current Riverknoll tenants and supporters from the RIT community (including parents, alums, faculty, staff, and members of the Rochester community) are encouraged to sign the petition. Together, we can ensure housing justice for Riverknoll tenants and all future RIT students.