USF Forecast: Sunny With a Chance of New Dorms

Tanya Dzekon
Staff Writer

A brief of ASUSF Senate’s recent meetings

USF plans to build a new residence hall, a new academic building for the Arts, and new athletic facilities, alongside other projects, as part of a 20-year development plan. Peter Novak, the Vice Provost of Student Life, presented USF’s Institutional Master Plan (IMP) at a Senate meeting on November 19.

The San Francisco Planning Department requires educational institutions to submit an IMP every 10 years to inform both city officials and the public about future facility and site plans on campus and their impact.

According to the IMF, USF’s housing quality is not competitive with many peer institutions. In 2011, the dorms accommodated only 38% of USF students. The new student housing would accommodate a higher percentage of students on campus and provide more housing options.

Novak said that the new dorms will probably be located where the ROTC building is now, and the new Arts building will either be placed below it, or in a new building that the university would purchase nearby.

The only obstacle to the development project is opposition from the neighbors.

The University Terrace Association (UTA), a neighborhood group, is concerned that the construction plans will increase the student population and consequently create traffic and parking problems. They are asking USF to prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) before constructing a new residence hall. The EIR could take up to a year to create, which would hold off the project.

In 2010, the same neighborhood group appealed USF’s plan to construct the John Lo Schiavo Science Center because of similar concerns. In early 2011, the Foghorn reported that a compromise — limiting construction hours and improving long-term communication — between the UTA and USF was reached.

If an agreement is reached, Novak projected that the new residence hall will be built at least 4 years from now.

Click here read more about USF’s Master Plan

Sophomores Struggle for On-Campus Housing: New policy waitlists sophomores, prioritizes dorms for freshmen

When administrators decided to permit sophomores to live off campus last year, they viewed the move as a chance for students to accelerate their maturity at USF.

But many students have responded with disappointment and anger.

Steve Nygaard, director of the Office of Residence Life (ORL), reiterated information that was recently sent out to all USF students via email. Nygaard stated that the university “has changed the second year requirement for students to live on campus in an effort to allow these second year students the opportunity to live off campus and to create additional spaces for our first year students.”

The change in policy was announced in December and there have been various attempts to communicate the new policy to students throughout the Spring semester.

The University anticipates enrolling the same number of first-year students in fall 2011– roughly 1,175– as it did in the Fall of 2010.

The University, however, has seen an increase in enrollment over the past several years. Allowing sophomores to live off-campus may be a way to relieve the overcrowding housing issues that ORL currently faces.

ORL and the University have stressed that students will not experience any change in financial aid eligibility, unless they move home with parents or other relatives in the Bay Area.

According to one parent, some sophomores may not be “mentally prepared to deal with the great responsibilities that come with living as tenants off-campus,  nor will they get to experience the student life that they signed onto when they made the decision to come to USF.”

Nygaard noted that it is difficult to compare this year’s incoming class to those of years past because of the change in residency requirement; ORL has had to waitlist students for on-campus  housing just about every year.

Many sophomores have expressed disappointment regarding the new policy as they had anticipated living on-campus their first two years–a requirement of the old policy.

Raven Sanchez, a current freshman, is just one of many students facing this serious dilemma.  Sanchez was hoping to find housing in Phelan Hall, but was instead left with the only option of living in a single room seven blocks away from campus in Pedro Arrupe.

“Sadly, these circumstances are something I would have never wished on myself, in my second year of college,” she said, “but in comparison to many of my friends, I got lucky.”

Sanchez claimed that had she not been able to find housing on-campus, she most likely would not have been able to afford to live off campus.

Several students in this situation have asked why the university has not added more rooms for student housing, despite their ability to spend money on several renovation projects. USF Administration insists that it lacks both the resources and the space to do so. They have instead opted to alter the housing policy.

Students who are seeking guidance with housing issues have been told to contact ORL.  Sanchez said  after several attempts she was able to make contact with ORL and was told she would not be guaranteed housing.

“It was like going in a big circle,” Sanchez added.

USF is not alone in dealing with student housing shortages. Other major universities such as the University of Arizona, Northwestern, and Virginia Tech are also facing a similar dilemma.

ORL maintains that it will continue to communicate the change in policy as well as host programs to discuss tips for finding off-campus housing.

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Making Mom and Dad Your New Roomies

As graduation approaches, I’m sure many of you seniors are facing the same predicament as me: after four years living in dorms and apartments, I’m moving back in with my parents. We’re not alone. In the past few years, newspapers like “The New York Times” and “The Washington Post” have published articles on the large amount of students moving back home after graduating. Sam Roberts’s story “Facing a Financial Pinch, and Moving In With Mom and Dad” from “The New York Times” last month says, “According to the census, 56 percent of men age 18 to 24 and 48 percent of women in the same age group live under the same roof as their parents.” While I’m excited about the free laundry and stocked pantry, it’ll be hard to transition from complete independence to mom and dad’s house. Here are some tips for making it work.

– Take care of yourself. You moved back home, but it’s not high school anymore. Pick up after yourself. Stack your plates in the dishwasher. Having free laundry in unit is convenient, but do your own laundry. It’s really awesome that your parents will let you come back home, so do your part to remind them you’re an adult and capable of taking responsibility for yourself.

– Talk about money. Ask the important questions: Do they want you to pay any rent?  Do they want money for groceries? What bills are you expected to pay (car, cell phone, insurance)? It can be awkward, but it’ll be way more awkward if you don’t talk about it.

– Plan the future. Being an adult means you can’t just board and mom and dad’s house for free forever. You most likely moved home either as a transitional place to live or because you can’t quite afford your own apartment yet. Come up with a plan. Parents are really good at helping with those kinds of big, real life, scary things.

– Figure out how to deal with a significant other. Remember, moving home means you live with your parents, not roommates or peers. If you want your significant other to stay the night, check in with mom and dad first. Try and make your case (you’re a college graduate, you’ve lived alone before), but if they say no way then it’s time to start brainstorming how to make things work (hopefully your significant other has a place you can crash). Also, mom and dad shouldn’t have to see your public displays of affection under their roof (hand holding is likely approved). Save it for behind closed doors.

– Make dinner for your mom and dad. Your parents will probably love having you around to pamper again (at least for the first week). They’ll want to cook you all your favorite meals. It would be such a nice surprise if one night they came home to find dinner already on the table and the dishes done. It’s a great way to say “thanks for letting me move back home.”

– Keep your parents in the loop. Just because you’re in your twenties doesn’t mean mom and dad will stop worrying. You don’t have to call your parents and keep them posted on your location and schedule minute to minute, but it’s courteous to tell them about your plans. If you’re going to be out late or if you’re not coming home at all, let them know otherwise you know they’ll stay up waiting and worrying.

– Don’t feel restricted. Living at home doesn’t have to destroy your social life. Make plans to go out for dinner or drinks with friends. Feel free to have them over too. Parents love seeing you have a good time at home. Just because you live at home doesn’t mean you have to revert back to your high school social schedule (the curfew is probably gone now). You can still hit the town and (but make sure you’re quiet when you get home late, don’t wake up the ‘rents).

– Have fun! Parents are super cool and make great company. Hang out together and make dinner, play a board game, watch a movie or hit happy hour. Your parents will feel ecstatic that you want to spend your  time with them and you might discover it’s a lot more fun than you imagined.

Students Face Tough Housing Choices

Every year during spring semester at USF, all returning students have to make a decision about where to live the following year.

For freshmen students, the decision is made for them by the Office of Residence Life. Almost all sophomores are required to live in campus housing, with the exception of those who want to file for a housing exemption and try to live off campus.

Students who are currently sophomores and juniors are not required to live on campus the following year and must decide whether they want to live on campus in Pedro Arrupe, Layola Village, or as a Resident Advisor, or if they want to find housing off campus. Although the decision may at first appear to be relatively easy, there are a variety of factors that can make it significantly more complex.

First, there is the Office of Residence Life, who does not make the housing selection process easy. Freshman students who file for exemption must provide proof of a medical condition or financial situation that makes them unable to live on campus. Once they provide this proof, it can take weeks to hear back from Residence Life about whether or not they actually received an exemption. By this time, all of the residence halls are filled to capacity and if the freshman does not receive an exemption, they will have some serious problems finding on campus housing.

This year, every sophomore residence hall except for Fromm, the all girls hall, was filled to capacity by the end of the first registration day. This means that students who were assigned the second day to register had no on campus options to choose from. Because the Office of Residence Life operates in this way, the Foghorn contends that sophomore students should not be required to live on campus until a more effective system of housing distribution is established.

For freshmen and upper classmen, the housing decision-making process extends far beyond Residence Life policies. Students must take into account the various advantages and disadvantages of living on or off campus. Financially, students will almost always save money by living off campus. Double rooms in each residence hall cost approximately $4,000 each semester and meal plans cost just under $2,000 each semester. If each semester is 4 months then students pay about $1,500 a month for room and board. Craigslist advertises average 3 and 4 bedroom apartments in the USF area at between $2,500 and $3,000 a month. This means multi-bedroom apartments would cost about $800 a month for a student with their own bedroom, plus the cost of food. Unless students get financial aid to cover their housing, they will most likely save money by living off campus.

Community involvement, safety, and accessibility are all reasons to live on campus. First, living in the middle of campus makes it easy to get involved. Club meetings, sports events, and extra curricular activities are at each student’s finger tips, which gives each student an opportunity to make connections and meet different people. This exposure is stifled to an extent once students move off campus. Second, living on campus gives students the ultimate amount of safety possible. The front desk of each residence hall acts as a buffer between students’ living space and potential off campus safety threats. By living on campus students avoid the risks that come with walking home alone at night. Lastly, on campus living gives students access to a large amount of amenities that much of the student body probably takes for granted. Laundry services within each building, wireless internet, flexi meal plans, and heating systems are all huge benefits for students living on campus.

Ultimately it is up to the individual student to decide which aspects of on or off campus living are most valuable to them. Some students many consider finances most important and choose to live off campus, while others may enjoy living in the middle of the USF community and choose to stay on campus. Either way, students should be given the opportunity to make these decisions for themselves and choose the living environment that will make them the most comfortable.

ORL Adds Quadruple Rooms

In a bold move to deal with the housing shortage that USF goes through every year, the Office of Residence Life has announced a change in housing next semester, allowing four students to live in a double room. ORL sources have also suggested the possibility of moving underclassmen out to tents on Welch Field.

Ashelynn Banks, a sophomore in the astrology and social justice program, said that she was shocked and angered by this development.

“This is just ridiculous. I live in a triple, and it’s already hard enough making room for everything and sharing closets and a fridge and whatnot,” Banks said. “I mean, there’s just so little space! Where are we supposed to hide the vodka now?”

“The housing quality will not decrease,” said Keith Nagayama, one of the residence hall directors responsible for the change. “And, just as they did this year for students in triples, RHA [Residence Hall Association] will continue to give students in triples and quadruples a free USF tote bag, a spiral-bound notebook and a few snacks. That will definitely make up for the inconvenience of the living arrangement for a year.”

However, ORL appears to have overlooked the future tent residents, and students are outraged about this.
“This goes against USF’s mission of social justice,” said freshman Leah Fish. “What if I end up living in a tent? Where’s my bag of goodies?”

According to Nagayama, the tent experience will not be vastly different from that of dorm life. “We try to keep everything as fair as possible. The amount of personal space each student will have in a tent,” he said, “is quite similar to that of a triple room; in other words: almost none.”

In order to keep the quality of living equal to that of the residence halls, a single Port-a-Potty will be set up on the field for use by all the tent residents, to mirror the student-to-bathroom ratio in the dorms. Showering will be made possible with a hose.

“However,” said Nagayama, “if the students living in the tents want to replicate the shower experience from the dorms, I’m afraid they’re going have to take matters into their own hands and sprinkle the field with hair and germs by themselves.”

While the changes to the housing system may be unpopular with the majority of the USF community, some students welcome them.

“I really don’t see why doubling up in the double rooms is that big of a deal,” said freshman John Johnson. “With tuition and housing fees as high as they are, I think the less we have to pay, the better, even if it means forcing a tiny, cramped living space meant for two people to support four students. Heck, why not five or six?”
Some students have decided to take action in opposition to the new housing options they say are unfair to freshmen and sophomores, who are required to live in on-campus housing for their first two years of college. A meeting was held Monday to discuss the event; three students attended.

“Some students obviously have a completely unfair advantage over regular students in their tent-building skills,” said Fish, who was present at the meeting. “This is just one more reason why the ROTC program needs to leave our campus.”

When asked about his concerns with the issue, Jedediah Goodbody, a freshman in the astrology and social justice program, expressed doubt and questioned ORL’s decision.

“Actually…uh…I haven’t heard much about this. I dunno. I’m not really up to date on this thing, but what I can say is, I’m not sure it’s good for students,” he said. “What’s this about again?”