COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Students at the University of Maryland have begun setting up a tent city at their respective academic quads this week to protest the housing shortage on campus.

Last week, the university informed 642 juniors and seniors that they will be kicked off campus next fall.

Many said the news comes late in the leasing process, leaving students scrambling to find housing.

Tad Greenleaf, a junior and member of the Student Government Association, said, "I have so many papers and exams coming up, I'm not sure when I will find time to look for off-campus housing."

The students are now demanding that the Board of Regents for the university allow the school to begin construction on new housing projects.

"The Board of Regents has rejected the University's requests to build student housing projects and now we are facing a major housing crisis," said Emma Simson, student body president.

The university has dealt with severe housing shortages for the past few years, officials said, converting dorm lounges to dorm rooms, turning double rooms into triples and placing students in the Inn and Conference Center at the school.