By Michael Walsh
Oh no! They're on to me! Or at least Sara Miller says she is in her letter about statistics showing that on campus sophomores get better grades than off campus sophomores. While I chuckled at her letter a little (letter to the editor, April 3, page 12), I think Ms. Miller unfairly assumes some things about my motivations and objectives and I want to address them here.
First, statistics don't lie. I didn't make up those numbers. I'm not "shrouding the data in statistics" to cause fear. I checked on them here because national statistics show that off-campus students fare worse grade wise than on campus. I've always found that to be surprising, so, I wanted to see if that was true here. Since my biggest concern is for sophomores, I focused on them. I thought it was interesting enough to tell The Beacon.
My motives are not "thinly veiled" as any Beacon reporter will tell you. I lay my biases right out on the table. I am a big fan of on-campus living! I mean, really, what would you expect out of a director of Residence Life?
My bias is that, in general, living on campus is a better experience for students than living off campus. This does not mean that I think it is a better option for all students. I also do not believe that all students are incapable of living off campus well. Many do great, especially juniors and seniors. Many (not all) sophomores struggle off campus, though.
And I believe that is because many rising sophomores delude themselves into believing in a fantasy off-campus world of complete freedom, no bills and super roommates. I know this because I deluded myself in college. I moved off campus my sophomore year expecting a great time. What I got was something completely different.
Sure, there were fun times. But, it was also isolating, difficult to get to class, a pain to shop, cook and clean, difficult to get roommates to pay bills and much more expensive than I thought. I also got my worst college grades that year.
What I try to do is help students, especially sophomores, think twice about racing off campus for that fantasy world that does not exist. Even when it turns out to be the best option, most people have not taken into consideration all that living off-campus entails.
One of those things is cost. I do not say off campus living is more expensive than on campus. I say that living off campus is more expensive than students think. If they do save a significant amount, it comes at a great cost in other ways such as living far away, eating poorly, living with six roommates, eschewing cable, Internet and heat in the winter.
My point in making my yearly arguments about living on campus is merely to ask - at what point is the amount of money you save worth the effort it takes to live off campus? Since people making that decision already know the off campus benefits (more privacy, cheaper, more autonomy, no intervisitation, etc.), I focus on what they don't know. I am not instilling fear by doing this. I am only pointing out some basic truths about what it really means to live off campus.
It's great to strike out on your own. But I always wonder, why rush it? Why do you want to spend sophomore year potentially isolated, battling nasty neighbors, welcoming police to your parties and chasing roommates for bills? You get to do that for the rest of your life after you graduate! (except for, hopefully, the police part).
So Ms. Miller is indeed on to me. But, I don't veil any of what I believe. I want only the best for students, and I truly believe that on campus living is the best thing for most people. I am not afraid to speak my biases. I do not do this by misleading people, however. What I tell people is true based upon statistics and 22 years of Residence Life experience.
Mostly, I try to help people see a different perspective. The real sad truth in my world is that we can't even house all the people who do want to live on campus. So, really I should just keep my big mouth shut about how great it is to live on campus until we build some more halls.
Michael Walsh is director of ?Residence Life
