The Justice

With the price of on-campus housing rising almost as quickly as bulldozers are tearing down the walls of residence quads such as Ridgewood, more and more students are moving off campus this year.

The average undergraduate rate for room and board reached nearly $9,500 during the 2006 to 2007 academic year, and the prices for housing in the Village and Ziv Quad are even more expensive.

Yet, the significantly lower price of off-campus housing (Students report paying as little as $400 to $600 a month), combined with the option not to have a meal plan and to split housing costs with roommates, is causing students to view off-campus housing as increasingly appealing.

In response to the growing number of students living off-campus, last April, Residence Life hired Nicole Fadavi, the first assistant director for off-campus housing and the first director geared specifically to off-campus housing.

Fadavi, who previously worked as the director of off-campus housing at Suffolk University and the director of recruitment at Mercy College, says her main objective is to increase communication between the Office of Residence Life and students looking for off-campus housing.

Fadavi wants to help students right from the start of their search for off-campus housing and also to act as a liaison to the community. "The best way for students to find housing is to look at our Web site and then e-mail us," she said. "They should come to my office first to look at different landlords, realtors and community members [who can] help them."

Citing the lack of organized social opportunities for students living off-campus, Fadavi plans to host events such as a "get-together social so that different commuter students can [connect] with other commuter students."

Students living off-campus can also participate in the "Stay Connected Program" in the Commuter Student Lounge in the Shapiro Campus Center every Thursday afternoon. "That is an opportunity for students to say hello and speak to me," Fadavi says. "It's like open office hours. We want to promote the Commuter Student Lounge."

Fadavi will also respond to student complaints that past ResLife workshops were not helpful or untimely. When asked if ResLife helped her with off-campus housing, Caitlin Dichter '09 said, "No, most of [the things ResLife gave out] were common knowledge I already knew."

Likewise, Andrew Giordano '08 wishes ResLife's "Knowing Your Rights" workshop on tenant rights would have occurred during the spring before he signed this year's lease.

Continued...

Page 1 of 3 next >

Article Tools