Tensions between the Bethlehem community and Lehigh students have existed for years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There\u2019s the typical college complaints that can divide a host city from its student population: noise violations during the weekends, parking issues and a general air of arrogance.<\/p>\n
In a decade-old opinion piece<\/a>, Anna Simoneau, \u201818, refers to Bethlehem as \u201cSketchlehem\u201d and \u201cBethle-hell,\u201d common terms at the time. It\u2019s not uncommon to hear \u201cDirty B(ethlehem)\u201d circling around campus, either.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s more than simple trash talk or drunk behavior in the street. Lehigh\u2019s ever-growing student body and its urge for expansion has tangible effects on the South Side community.<\/p>\n Older residents recall the lost neighborhood between Packer Ave, Martel, Morton and Webster Streets before Lehigh acquired the land and tore it down in the 60s. For decades, working class residents have had their neighborhoods resold and gutted for university projects.\u00a0<\/p>\n The issue doesn\u2019t seem to slow down any time soon.<\/p>\n Lehigh\u2019s Path to Prominence<\/a> was introduced in 2016 as a plan to increase the undergraduate enrollment by 1,000 students. In the last 10 years, Lehigh\u2019s full-time undergraduate enrollment increased by over 900.<\/p>\n The class of 2030 is Lehigh\u2019s third consecutive highest enrollment, with 1,608 students<\/a>.<\/p>\n This year, the surplus of first-years were placed in upperclassman housing<\/a> in Singleton and Brodhead, displacing those students to off-campus housing.\u00a0<\/p>\n The proposed new undergraduate housing, East Hill Resident Hall, is set to open in fall 2028 <\/a>with 371 beds for first-year students. It\u2019s unknown whether current first-year housing will remain the same or adapt for upperclassmen, so this raises the question of where these students will go after first year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Junior and senior housing already operates through a lottery system. Increasing enrollment each year without adequate housing makes students go off campus for their junior and senior years.<\/p>\n Instead of independent landlords with community ties, outside landlord companies have taken over the properties.\u00a0<\/p>\n Amicus Properties, an independent private real estate and property management company, provides off-campus housing to Lehigh students.\u00a0<\/p>\n Amicus acquires residential homes and apartments in Bethlehem to lease to Lehigh students for an inflated price. As one of the only off campus options, Amicus can overcharge and profit off higher income students willing to pay for \u201cluxury off-campus housing.\u201d<\/p>\n With rent that can go above $1,000 per student, Amicus is set to make significantly more money than renting to families. This business model prices out South Side residents and takes these houses permanently off the market for families.\u00a0<\/p>\n The University\u2019s eagerness to grow has created a profit motive that is unreasonable for residents to compete with. The people of the South Side can\u2019t afford to live in the city they\u2019ve spent their entire lives in.<\/p>\n Lower income families with generations in the South Side have been forced to relocate, sometimes requiring their children to move out of the school district.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2024, the Bethlehem Area School District began implementing housing counselors<\/a> in its schools for students facing homelessness, eviction or extreme housing instability.\u00a0<\/p>\n Despite advertising, Amicus isn\u2019t favorable among Lehigh students due to poor living conditions, expensive prices and administrative issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n Without student demand, these houses go vacant.\u00a0<\/p>\n