Student housing is extremely easy to address with university-owned options, which has the bonus of making things a hell of a lot easier. Dorms are already very common at the sort of schools one would attend from across the country.

> Imagine owning a home, getting sent on military deployment and that home just sitting empty rather than it be legal to rent it out while away.

I’m not sure I see the problem here. Besides, how many active military personnel without families also own homes?

> Imagine your children are accepted to a great college far away but they can’t go because you can’t afford to buy a second home near that college.

No one said universities can’t have dorms.

> The problem is the shortage of housing units.

The shortage of housing units is certainly a problem, but the price inflation landlording necessarily creates is also a major problem.