Commuter and Resident: Why students may pick one over another

Freedom. This seven letter word signifies college. Finally, teens can escape their parents’ grasp long enough to actually live. Well, sometimes. Students who live on campus have some freedom. Even though they still abide by the rules of their chosen university, they’re away from their parents’ nagging voices. “Did you do your homework yet? It’s three in the morning! Why are you still awake?” At the same time, some teens don’t want to leave home.

The very idea scares them or maybe their parents really won’t let them go. Either way, college is the first step to the long-awaited freedom that every kid wants. Whether the student leaves home as a freshman to live on campus, or later moves out to live with friends, each step is a big one, towards a future that isn’t entirely dependent upon parents.

By Jessie Krehlik

Contributor

Freedom. This seven letter word signifies college. Finally, teens can escape their parents’ grasp long enough to actually live. Well, sometimes. Students who live on campus have some freedom. Even though they still abide by the rules of their chosen university, they’re away from their parents’ nagging voices. “Did you do your homework yet? It’s three in the morning! Why are you still awake?” At the same time, some teens don’t want to leave home.

The very idea scares them or maybe their parents really won’t let them go. Either way, college is the first step to the long-awaited freedom that every kid wants. Whether the student leaves home as a freshman to live on campus, or later moves out to live with friends, each step is a big one, towards a future that isn’t entirely dependent upon parents.

Three types of students attend Seton Hill University (SHU): commuters who live with their families, commuters who live with their friends, and residents on campus, and residents who commute from the Marriot. All have their own perks and downfalls, but in the end the choice of where to live relies solely on preference and convenience.

For most freshmen, on-campus residency is a must, unless the freshman decides to commute from home. Freshman Sofiya Arnaudova loves that there is never a dull moment on campus. “You are never bored,” she said. Unfortunately, this constant action can be negative as well: “People don’t care much about you when they play music at four in the morning,” said Arnaudova.

Although some students have no choice in their living situation, those who do, agree that living on campus opens doors to meeting new people. Freshman Jessica Orlowski loves living in her suite in DeChantal with seven other girls. “You are able to develop close bonds with your classmates,” she said.

Even though junior Jenna Petrini likes the opportunity to meet new people from each gender and class, she has one major complaint about resident life. “I dislike that if you’re of legal age and you come back to your dorm after drinking off-campus, you still risk getting a steep fine,” she said. Unfortunately for Petrini, as well as the rest of our 21 and over students, this rule has to be enforced in case other students sneak alcohol on campus to drink irresponsibly.

Although some students cannot wait to leave campus and live in a place of their own, a few students couldn’t be happier living on campus. “I live in Farrell and love that most of my best friends live in the same dorm. There’s really nothing to complain about. I like living with all my friends,” said sophomore Juliana Cox.

Junior Laura Dunkle, who lives in Maura, agrees with Cox: “I like all the girls on my floor,” but unlike Cox, Dunkle does have a few complaints about SHU Residency. “I don’t like the no fish policy, and I don’t like having to walk so far to do my laundry,” said Dunkle.

Laundry seems to be one of the biggest downfalls to living away from home. Freshman Lauren Graham says the worst part about living on campus is having to do your own laundry. One of the other cons to living on campus is that, without a car, students won’t get very far off campus.

Another freshman, Kristeen Zellers, doesn’t have that problem: She lives at home with her parents. But, unlike Orlowski, Zellers complains that she doesn’t have a lot of friends on campus to hang out with. At the same time, this minor issue doesn’t faze Zellers very much. “It’s nice, because I can come and go as I please,” she said.

Zellers doesn’t have to deal with losing sleep because of the party on the floor above her. With all the comforts of home, Zellers also saves a lot of money by commuting. She lives less than ten minutes away from campus, so gas isn’t an issue. She said, “I’d rather save my money now, and live on campus when I’m a senior.” As tuition prices rise each year, so does the price of room and board.

According to the SHU website, for the 2008-09 school year, room and board costs anywhere between $8 and $10 thousand. Although Zellers will have to fight through snow storms this winter to get to class on time, all the way from parking lot D, her only real complaint echoes among most students who still live with their parents. Because of this, curfews are enforced, and she misses out on some of the real college experiences.

SHU also conveniently offers their own top ten reasons for living on campus. The number one reason is “you can get up five minutes before class and still make it there on time,” and others include “late night activities” and a “friendly, family like atmosphere.” Unfortunately, most of the reasons listed on the site apply more so to students who live on or close to campus. For those who live away from campus and commute, most of these activities are not available to all students.

Basically, it all boils down to convenience: it’s easier to attend these activities if the student doesn’t have to jump in his car and drive back on campus at night to have fun with his friends.

For those who choose to live in an apartment or house with friends off-campus, the general overview is positive. Although these commuters still have to do their own laundry, they can leave campus at any time just like Zellers, and these students don’t worry about a curfew enforced by their parents or legal guardians. Junior Mark Henry lived on campus for two years before renting a house this year with a few of his friends. Henry loves living off-campus, but does miss some aspects of resident life.

“The worst part is you don’t see as many people like you would in a dorm. You don’t meet as many new people, and you lose touch with some of your friends,” he said. Henry explained that living off campus gives even more freedom. He said, “it’s a better representation of real life. There are no Resident Assistants (RAs), Desk Security Assistants (DSAs), quiet hours, room inspections or floor meetings.” The only apparent bad aspects to living off campus with friends is not being as close to campus and classes. With our enrollment growing each year, SHU has less and less room to accommodate students’ cars on campus.

Money is always a factor as well. For some, it might be more convenient to live at home or maybe it’s more convenient and inexpensive to live on campus, because “home” is too many hours away. Regardless of the reasoning, choosing a living arrangement needs to be a calculated decision.