2008 Woodie Awards
Should Vanderbilt mandate on-campus housing?
Madeleine Fentress
Issue date: 2/25/08 Section: Issues
The idea of living on campus for four years conjures up two contrasting images in my mind: one of a romantically traditional college experience of living near centers of learning and ideas, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of campus life; the other of being trapped and suffocated by restrictive housing options. While the Vanderbilt administration's intentions and vision are probably more similar to the first image, the reality of mandatory on-campus living for four years is closer to the second image.
The first problem with mandatory, on-campus housing is strictly financial. For the quality of housing that most students will receive in the years to come-in other words, everyone not living in the Commons-the price tag doesn't fit the goods and services received.
The cinderblock walls, rickety elevators, dingy bathrooms, and musty furniture are not worth the exorbitant rates we pay for housing. Sure, it is convenient to be close to your classes, Quizno's, the mailroom, and the Rec - but not to the tune of nearly $4,000 per semester. For students already struggling to make ends meet, having the option of living at least a little more cheaply off-campus could lift a major burden.
Also, not being able to live off campus means that many students will graduate without learning the important skills acquired in life beyond the dorm. Searching for an apartment or house, paying monthly bills, dealing with a landlord, and keeping up with basic home maintenance are all essential to life after college, yet on-campus living prevents confrontation with these tasks and issues.
Though it is understandable that the University may want students to focus on academic growth, keeping them in an extreme version of the bubble for four years isn't necessarily the way to accomplish that.
Allowing students to take on the challenge of off-campus living allows them to prepare for the sort of lifestyle they might experience after graduation - whether as graduate students, volunteers abroad or new members of the workforce. Keeping students from encountering these obstacles during their time as undergraduates may remove a short-term burden, but it is an ultimately crippling situation.
Proponents of compulsory on-campus living may present the variety of Vanderbilt's housing options-Towers suites, apartment-style Chaffins, Mayfields, etc.-as sufficient choices for upperclassmen looking for a more independent lifestyle. However, these are less than satisfactory: they still feel like dorms and are still under the jurisdiction of Residential Life.
On-campus living is an excellent way to build community during students' first years at Vanderbilt, but the restrictions of dorm life should not extend for all four years of the undergraduate experience.
The first problem with mandatory, on-campus housing is strictly financial. For the quality of housing that most students will receive in the years to come-in other words, everyone not living in the Commons-the price tag doesn't fit the goods and services received.
The cinderblock walls, rickety elevators, dingy bathrooms, and musty furniture are not worth the exorbitant rates we pay for housing. Sure, it is convenient to be close to your classes, Quizno's, the mailroom, and the Rec - but not to the tune of nearly $4,000 per semester. For students already struggling to make ends meet, having the option of living at least a little more cheaply off-campus could lift a major burden.
Also, not being able to live off campus means that many students will graduate without learning the important skills acquired in life beyond the dorm. Searching for an apartment or house, paying monthly bills, dealing with a landlord, and keeping up with basic home maintenance are all essential to life after college, yet on-campus living prevents confrontation with these tasks and issues.
Though it is understandable that the University may want students to focus on academic growth, keeping them in an extreme version of the bubble for four years isn't necessarily the way to accomplish that.
Allowing students to take on the challenge of off-campus living allows them to prepare for the sort of lifestyle they might experience after graduation - whether as graduate students, volunteers abroad or new members of the workforce. Keeping students from encountering these obstacles during their time as undergraduates may remove a short-term burden, but it is an ultimately crippling situation.
Proponents of compulsory on-campus living may present the variety of Vanderbilt's housing options-Towers suites, apartment-style Chaffins, Mayfields, etc.-as sufficient choices for upperclassmen looking for a more independent lifestyle. However, these are less than satisfactory: they still feel like dorms and are still under the jurisdiction of Residential Life.
On-campus living is an excellent way to build community during students' first years at Vanderbilt, but the restrictions of dorm life should not extend for all four years of the undergraduate experience.
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