After choosing to come to the U.S. for school, international students can face several challenges when they arrive. Language and cultural barriers are enough to deal with in addition to arriving to campus just days before the semester starts. International students shouldn’t have to worry about having a place to go home to each night on top of that.

Today’s front page story, “International students struggle to find housing,” points out that for some international students, the already difficult transition is made worse by the housing search, with students sometimes ending up in dangerous situations.

We think the university should provide additional housing services for international students in order to ease the transition into the Kent State community.

On the university side, part of this could be reserving more on-campus housing for international students so they know they have a guaranteed place to live when they get here.

We are aware there is overcrowding on campus. Reducing the on-campus living requirement to one year, freeing up more rooms for international students, is one possible solution.

The university could also work with apartment complexes, acting as liaison for the students until they are able to guarantee themselves a lease. This university liaison could also help the students with general housing-related needs.

We understand this creates more work for Kent State employees. To ensure a smooth transition for international students who are already going to face several challenges, however, we think it’s worth it.

The above editorial is the consensus opinion of the The Kent Stater editorial board, whose names are listed above.