For all those who attended last night’s town hall meeting, “The Future of Housing,” it was very clear that the future is occurring off campus. The meeting haled all of the positive points of living in the Southside Living Center apartments, in the new Maisonettes at Southside and all the houses up for lease in the areas surrounding River Campus. It is very clear that over the next few months, Residential Life is going to be making a big push to advertise off-campus housing and increase the number of rising juniors and seniors who decide to live there.
This could be a very good thing. Living in a house or an apartment is an excellent option for many students and often one that isn’t widely considered. Some of those benefits include significantly lower housing and food costs. Perhaps most importantly, off-campus living provides a transition period between on-campus living and post-collegiate life. It gives students a chance at buying their own groceries, cooking their own meals, paying their own bills, doing their own dishes and cleaning their own bathrooms but also provides the safety net of knowing the Pit is still a feasible dinner option.
Unfortunately, the problem with this push to move students off campus is that the infrastructure simply isn’t yet in place for such a change. Currently, students living in Southside have trouble handling the infrequent bus schedules; students who live farther away have to pay for the RTS 18/19 bus or pay high prices to park far off in Park Lot – at least a 10-minute walk from most classes.
Currently, UR is involved in talks with both private and public bus companies to expand services already available in places like Park Ave. or the 19th Ward, as well as potentially create additional services such as a shuttle service from Park Lot. While these talks are still preliminary, it is hoped that over the summer some plans will be solidified.
If these negotiations are successful and students are provided with greater busing services, it could prove to be a wonderful thing for the student body, as well as the beginning of important changes in campus life. With the proper infrastructure in place, off-campus options will become more appealing and feasible, and more students will be willing to partake in that very positive opportunity.
