Residential students are well versed in all the changes and rules that NSU’s Office of Residential Life and Housing implemented this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but how much are we supposed to take? The housing options and rates for next year have been released, with a majority of returning residential students selecting their choice of housing sometime this week. However, I cannot be the only one upset with some of the decisions made for residential students next year.
Let’s begin with the new distribution plan for residential students. Next year, all students with more than four terms at NSU, in other words, juniors and seniors, have only three options for “on-campus” housing. These students get the wonderful choices of Mako Hall, Rolling Hills A and University Pointe. Two of these options are not even on NSU’s main campus. I understand the assumption that juniors and seniors are more likely to have a car, meaning that they can drive to campus, but with a large sum of residential students being out-of-state, this just simply is not true.
This means that freshmen and sophomores have the choice of every other dorm on campus. It seems a little unfair to me that buildings like CLC and FFV are being reserved for underclassmen without considering how limiting the options for juniors and seniors are. Maybe instead of focusing on increasing the incoming student population, NSU could focus on making legitimate residential options for all students.
Now, you might say, “That’s what University Pointe is for,” but anyone who has read the options there understands how cruel that choice is. With a price point comparable to Mako Hall, it would be a viable option, but it is not even on NSU;s campus. Not to mention that some of the studio options do not even have a stove. Rolling Hills A is not as bad, but again, it cannot be compared to actual on-campus housing.
In addition, room rates have increased dramatically for some of the actual on-campus dorms. CLC, which previously cost $4,490 per semester, has been increased to $6,300 for the same accomodation. It is the same exact building. I understand supply and demand, but this is a university. Its first goal should not be trying to squeeze more money out of students for the same old conditions without any relevant renovation.
So, while we have half the undergraduate residential students fighting for a chance to actually live on campus, we have the other half being drained of money that could go to other things like books or school supplies while living in the same old buildings. After such a difficult year and plenty of rules, you would think that the Office of Residential Life and Housing and NSU would give students a break, but clearly, that is not the case.
