On-campus Housing vs. Off-campus Housing

Proximity to class, awareness of what’s going on and all utilities included are some advantages to living on campus.

So why do some students prefer to live off-campus?

Candice Reid, a VCU junior, agrees there are many advantages to living on campus, but would rather live on her own.

“I prefer to live off-campus,” says Reid. “I have my own space and my own freedom to do whatever I want.”

Reid says most students view college as a time for fewer restrictions, something they didn’t always have while in high school and living at home.

“You can have all the visitation you want, don’t have to worry about signing people in, and people being in your business,” says Reid.

Fawn Nolan, the housing manager for Broad Street Properties, believes that all students should live on campus.

“They [VCU’s officials] make the effort to take care of the students,” says Nolan. “When you live on private property, owners [only care about] colleting rent. There is more focus on the student here.”

Living in residential housing can make housing responsibilities easier for students. Students do not have to pay separate bills and worry about their electricity or cable being disconnected. In a dorm, everything is included in the room and board fee.

“I’ve never seen so many amenities,” says Nolan. “You can live in an apartment [off-campus] for up to five years and never see a coat of paint unless you pay for it yourself. However, the university does come in and paint as necessary; and change our carpet and furniture.”

According to VCU’s residential life and housing Web site, the mission of Residence Education is to support students’ academic, personal and extracurricular pursuits.

Nolan also says that students also have more time to study and think about why they are in college instead of worrying about where they are going to get money to pay for their bill each month.

The housing rates vary depending on which dorm a student chooses to live in. The prices range from $1,800 to $3,500 a semester. The communications fee, which covers the basic telephone, Internet and cable TV connections, is between $320 and $400 for the year. Students can pay these amounts in full or by a payment plan.

Virginia Totaro, a VCU professor, says that students should ask themselves if they are ready to add more stress to their lives before moving off campus.

“If [you] are already struggling to pay bills and make good grades, moving off campus might make problems worse, not better,” she says.

Students not only have to worry about paying bills monthly, but they also have to deal with roommates. Totaro says the best thing to do is to set standards with your roommates about things you find acceptable and unacceptable.

“Talk and communicate openly and it will save many headaches and heartaches in the future,” she says.

Don Imus vs. Rap Culture

It is time for the media to start paying attention to what is being said on television and the radio regardless of who makes the comment.

Don Imus was fired from his job with CBS radio after calling the Rutgers University women’s basketball team “nappy-headed ho’s.” This statement caused a lot of debate on whether or not it was appropriate for him to make this particular comment about black women. Even though this remark was not necessary, I think it has caused too much attention that is also not necessary.

Why are comments like this a big issue now? I am not justifying what Imus said because the comment he made was not acceptable, but why was it made such a big deal for him. Is the statement wrong because Imus is white? What if an African American female or male made the same remark?

I have thought about this statement “nappy-headed ho’s” for a few days and wondered how I would feel if someone was to refer to me as one. I have heard many opinions on this topic, read about it Online and even watch a clip of when Imus made the comment. This is not the first time there have been unnecessary comments made by people who are on television.

In my opinion, women tend to let people, especially men, from different races and backgrounds call them out there name by the way the present themselves. If you wear clothes that are too tight and everything is popping out in the wrong places, they are going to say you look nasty. If you give men what they want and put your business out in the street, people will call you a ho. So why get mad if someone refers to you in this manner? This name is not acceptable, yet we continue to let people call us rude names.

In popular culture, it seems to have become a fad calling females names based on how they look or act. One way it is shown is through rap music. After this comment made by Imus, people have started to wonder whether or not rappers are wrong for referring to females as a ho, slut or b---h. I choose not to listen to this type of music because I do not want to agree to a type of music where people are degrading women.

In an interview with MTV, Snoop Dogg says that he doesn’t think that rappers should be compared to Imus.

“It's a completely different scenario,” says Snoop. “[Rappers] are not talking about no collegiate basketball girls who have made it to the next level in education and sports. We're talking about ho's that's in the 'hood that ain't doing sh--, that's trying to get a n---a for his money.”

I understand what he meant by saying that rappers just talk about what they are feeling and are not pinpointing a certain group of females, but the language should not be acceptable. If we continue to broadcast their music where they are degrading women, then we are saying that it is allowed. If we continue to dance and sing to this type of music, then we are calling ourselves these names. Not all females who wear skimpy clothes are ho’s and not all of them that aren’t doing anything for themselves are ho’s either.

In other words, I wouldn’t take offense to someone when they call me a name or refer to me as a particular name. I wouldn’t accept them either. Instead, I would try to do something about.

Photo courtesy of The Washington Post, AP File Photo/Richard Drew