You give a little, and you take a little.
After many debates, UR has begun to plan for the implementation of freshmen housing in the Residential Quad this September. This will give the incoming freshmen an excellent opportunity to create a close-knit community. Only time will tell the effectiveness of freshmen housing.
As the room draws approach, the focus shifts onto the upperclassmen. If juniors and seniors are unhappy with their housing choices, they have the option of moving off campus. Sophomores do not have this privilege and therefore UR should lift its requirement of on-campus housing for sophomores.
Since UR guarantees housing for all of its students, approximately 200 UR students will have to live in the Graduate Living Centers next year. The mandatory sophomore housing requirement unfairly penalizes the juniors.
If sophomores are allowed to live off-campus, more juniors who want UR housing will able to get the preferred housing here on the River Campus.
Under the current system, the housing lottery point system will no longer serve its purpose. Juniors who have more points than freshman and sophomores will not have access to the better housing on campus.
Sophomores will also have limited options for housing. A majority will have to live in Susan B. Anthony Residence Halls unless they are lucky enough to get a room in Hill Court or the already crowded Towers buildings, which will be full of special interest groups.
UR cannot force a sense of community by requiring sophomores to live on campus. Rules do not create community ? making people feel like they are where they want to be creates community.
In fact, the continuation of this mandate will negatively impact the ?sense of community? UR wants to build. Discontented sophomores and juniors will pollute the community and stop its growth.
Ideally, if freshman housing accomplishes its goal, then sophomores will not want to move off campus regardless of their ability to do so. Providing the option to live off campus will not only help UR monitor the success of freshman housing, but it will also give students more control over their college experience.