Madeline Bryce/Daily Nexus
In the wake of Santa Rosa Residence Hall’s projected demolition in the 2026-27 school year, UC Santa Barbara’s rat population has protested their loss of housing. These rats have established historic colonies within the walls of UCSB’s oldest residence hall — and they’re not ready to leave yet.
The Daily Nexus, thanks to second-year Bernie Sandal, who is a rat linguistics minor in the College of Creative Studies, was able to interview Geronimo, a spokesperson for the rat colony in Santa Rosa. When asked why the colony decided to protest the future demolition of Santa Rosa, Geronimo had one thing to say.
“The school is building new housing for its students to live in while construction is underway on the site of Santa Rosa. But has anyone thought of us? Where are we supposed to go as we watch generations of our family history get destroyed for reasons we couldn’t care less about?” Geronimo said.
The reason for Santa Rosa’s demolition comes amidst a housing crisis that continues to plague UCSB. University housing is only guaranteed to freshmen, with nearly 1,500 students still having to live in the isolation of Santa Catalina Residence Hall, as there aren’t enough spaces on campus to accommodate the freshman class. In place of Santa Rosa and Ortega Dining Commons, the take-out dining hall, the University aims to build a new mixed-use building to house about 1,200 students.
This decision has come with several controversies, with the rats’ protest inspiring several activists to come to their aid. Activists have argued that the demolition of Santa Rosa poses a huge ethical dilemma, with third-year sociology major Jenna Greene weighing in.
“It’s their home, more than any of ours. Students spend one academic year there and move on, but to these rats, Santa Rosa plays an essential role in their family history,” Greene said.
In response to the halted plans, Dominic Badger, the spokesperson for UCSB, released an official statement.
“The school is unaware of any colony of rats living in the dorms. We take security and health very seriously here at UCSB, and we hope to resume construction as soon as possible,” the statement read.
The Daily Nexus approached several students, hoping to get their perspective on the issue.
“I don’t care,” fourth-year English major Kaiden McDonald said.
Some students, however, such as first-year psychological & brain sciences major Katie Lam, expressed confusion and surprise.
“Ew, those were rats I was hearing in the walls? I thought it was just my neighbors getting freaky,” Lam said.
When asked what the rats planned to do if their concerns were not taken seriously, Geronimo let out a squeak that apparently meant: “The revolution starts now!”
Serrano Ham warns of translation errors in the rat’s quotes.
