Freshmen, living on campus isn’t that great

Although South Oakland can be kind of gross and landlords can be kind of stingy, should first-year students live in on-campus dormitories? 

The practice is near-universal for large schools to emphasize that freshmen live in student housing. For example, at Pitt, students who choose to live on-campus are required to shell out roughly $10,000 — more than a full semester’s in-state tuition — for the privilege of living on campus.

In essence, students are forced to pay $900 a month for rent in an area where rent consistently goes for half such a rate. 

So what exactly does that $900 get you?

First of all, at Pitt and many other schools, students are also required to buy a meal plan redeemable only through the university. When such a system exists, price gouging is going to be a problem.

For example, I recently paid $7.99 for a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream at the Sutherland Hall Quick Zone — this is compared to it being $4.99 at Rite Aid.  Forcing students to purchase the real world equivalent of “Disney Dollars” is a pretty blatant rip-off. 

Of course, many students will point out that, although on-campus housing is expensive, the experience is something they value. It’s true that living with one’s friends and peers can be a fun experience, but is it a better alternative for freshman?

The largest component of on-campus housing is the ability to sell parents a “peace of mind.” Having their son or daughter monitored by university-approved prefects sounds like a dream come true for worrisome parents simply because of the idea that an 18-year-old can’t handle more newfound freedom than they will already gain in college.

In reality, however, freshmen will want to take full advantage of their newfound freedom no matter where they live. But, when you put all of these fun-seekers — of whom, all probably have a similar, party-themed, ideas of what college is — into a concentrated area, this can turn chaotic quickly.

If you’re a freshman, and you want to enjoy your new freedom without someone else keeping you up until 3 a.m. on a Wednesday night, dorms probably aren’t the best option for you.

While some of you may have had great experiences in college dorms, the culture of drinking and troublemaking are ubiquitous in freshman dorms. According to the Century Council’s report on college drinking, 76 percent of freshmen reported using alcohol at least once in the last 30 days. 

Coercing students across the nation to live in dorms, especially when considering their expensive nature, seems unjust. And, come on, you have to share a bedroom with a stranger.

But is completely unsupervised living any better? Without any sort of authority figures, how will young adults cope with freedom?

Ignoring the infuriating reality of having to hire your own babysitters, we need to realize that college freshmen are ultimately adults. If they have the agency to sign up for thousands of dollars of debt, surely can live off-campus.

This isn’t to say I want to see dorms abolished or minimized. However, they’re not best choice for every college freshman.

Young adults are only as old as we treat them. Making off-campus living a taboo — some sort of lawless wasteland where freedom reigns — is a dangerous thing to do. Implying that people are unable to handle freedom is a self-fulfilling prophecy — people generally conform to what you expect of them.

Although it’s an oft-repeated mantra, I really wouldn’t trade my freshman experience in Sutherland Hall for anything.

Then again, I really wouldn’t wish it on anyone, either. 

Write Andrew at amb306@pitt.edu