For a long time now, the UC system's spirit has been "hey, our total lack of concern about our students' well-being is feature, not a bug. If you graduate here, you've shown you're a survivor (or that you have money to soften the blows)". I felt that ethos at UC Berkeley forty years ago.
And sure, if UC solved the housing problem for their students, it might solve things for non-students, which might reduce house values and no one wants housing prices to decline.
I don't think improving housing for UC students solves the problem for the area. I was just referring to them building more on campus housing. Might take a bit of heat off the rental market.
The turn in the story is ... let's revisit this next year and see how the housing situation is .. I think it's about to melt down a lot. I suspect this blog post represents an unfortunate temporary thing.
And sure, if UC solved the housing problem for their students, it might solve things for non-students, which might reduce house values and no one wants housing prices to decline.