This letter is in response to the recent campuswide decision to force nonexempt freshmen into campus housing.
Forcing incoming freshmen to live on campus is being shrouded and justified by a myriad of other reasons — like killing the commuter campus vibe — and helping college newbies make new friends, among others. These are all good reasons; ones I happen to agree with. I never had to commute and I met many of my best friends in the dorms.
The strongest reason this rule is around is for the money, or to avoid losing more of it.
I lived on campus my entire time at The Beach. For most of that time, I was also employed by Housing — full disclosure here — in a position that paid for most of the on-campus living costs. I was lucky but I worked for it.
I remember how nervous my parents were that I wouldn’t get a spot in on-campus housing. Those days for students and parents are seemingly long gone now that there are plenty of spots.
But they have a newer worry; how expensive on-campus housing is for incoming freshmen. The Housing site says campus newbies start paying $1,256.25 a month. This gets you half of one shared room, a shared bathroom and a host of other living options like Internet and cable.
But ask yourself who, by himself, is paying $1,200 a month for off-campus housing? The answer is, not many — except maybe those people with condos on Ocean Boulevard, with ocean views and killer appliances.
More likely there are two people paying $600 for half of a $1,200 place — each with his own room in a two-bedroom pad with so-so appliances.
Basic point: On-campus housing is really, really expensive. And you don’t get enough for it for that hefty of a monthly payment.
The Beach needs to win this housing war by offering much more affordable rates — ya know — beating them out the old-fashioned economic way.
Bradley Zint,
Spring 2008 alumnus
San Diego, Calif.