Conn is a residential college with on-campus housing guaranteed all four years; we all came here well aware of this fact. The 2014 – 2015 housing lottery booklet clearly states, “Students are expected to live in residence at the College unless they are living with their parents, guardians, spouse or dependents within a 50 mile radius of the campus.” For the past several years, however, due to a housing crunch, a select few full-time, senior status, students, who are not married and/or do not commute, have been able to rent homes in the New London area independent from the College. For the ‘14-’15 academic year, seniors are no longer offered the off-campus option afforded to them in the past. This decision, made not only by Residential Education and Living but by senior administrators as well, is within existing college policy.
Every NESAC school is dedicated to being a residential college, except for our jumbo-sized cousin Tufts. Off-campus housing is considered a privilege for upper-classmen only and is highly limited at each institution. Wesleyan does not offer contract-free off-campus, however they do have 150 house units in neighboring communities for upper-class students, which range in size from one to six person units.
Hamilton has recently announced that the Class of 2015 will be the last senior class to have the opportunity to live off-campus. Amherst, Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Middlebury, Trinity and Williams all accept a limited number of off-campus petitions and applications; most remind students the implication of off-campus living and encourage students to consider remaining on campus.
Initially, I believed that this decision was a result of behavioral incidences; parties at off-campuses houses are often broken up by the New London Police and in October four students were issued criminal summonses for breach of peace. Sara Rothenberger, Director of Residential Education and Living (REAL), assured me that behavior was not the reason for removing off-campus housing as an option; she recognizes that the health and safety of students is easier to monitor on-campus but overall, “it’s a fiscal decision made by the College as a whole. If we have beds on campus why not fill them?”
There are currently 1,805 beds on campus and only 1,712 of those beds are occupied this semester: that is a lot of extra space. As the lottery booklet states, this decision is simply about need: “For the 2014-2015 academic year we do not anticipate needing to release seniors from their campus housing contract as we have in the past few years.”
Having never lived off campus, my initial thoughts are, “How wonderful! I could cook for my self! No Harris food! I could live with my friends and not be bothered by fire drills or noisy, drunk strangers.” The separation of life and school could be healthy for the ever-anxious senior, but I came to Conn because I wanted my academic and co-curricular activities to meld together.
Living within New London neighborhoods could encourage me and other students to become more active and engaged community members. However, only 20 students currently live off-campus and in order to foster community immersion through housing, off-campus housing would have to dramatically expand, a plan that would only surely destroy the ideals of being a residential college leaving students disconnected from the campus community and culture.
Off-campus housing forces students to think differently about food, cleaning, utilities, maintenance and – being undisputedly in the New London Police Department’s jurisdiction – security. I am not sure I could or would want to handle the responsibility of renting a home and completing my three term papers.
Seniors can always submit an off-campus housing petition, but as a proactive measure, Rothenberger and REAL staff want students to know that their request will most likely be denied due to multiple conversations and decisions within the Administration. Is there a slight chance that off-campus housing will open over the summer? Maybe, after the number of matriculated and study-away students has solidified but as Rothenberger said, “so many stars would have to align.” •
