2008 Woodie Awards
Why tamper with a good thing?
Anthony David Rueli. He is a Collegian columnist and can be reached at arueli@student.umass.edu.
Issue date: 9/19/07 Section: Editorial / Opinion
Then, when looking at their off-campus friends, they begin to feel like children all over again, living in a place that's designed only for students. RAs begin to seem like parents and the dorms like prisons. This begins the rush to move out to gain even more independence.
Again…why? For the rest of our lives, we'll be living "off campus," so to speak. Whether it's in an apartment, a house, or on the street, you've got to look after yourself. No one's gonna have your back 24/7 in the real world. Why not live it up in a huge hotel for students only while you still have the chance?
Another reason people feel the need to move off campus is so they can hold grand house parties. Excuse me for being naive, but I don't see why one would want to accept massive amounts of strangers into their home to drink all their alcohol, make a huge mess, and steal things.
I'm not saying anything against house parties; they are indeed far superior to anything that could be held at a dorm. It's just that when I'm at a house party, I want to be the one drinking all the alcohol, making a huge mess, and stealing things, not the one who has to worry about it (and, God bless them, clean up after it the next day).
Another common complaint about the dorms is living with a roommate. This problem is easily solved by the time you are a junior or a senior by simply applying for a single. Believe me, if I can get one (with my lengthy, multi-paged list of transgressions), you sure can.
Granted, watching more and more of my friends from freshman year disappear off campus has been a bit depressing, but we do our best to stay in contact. I guess losing touch with friends is going to become even more of a problem when we graduate, so why not start dealing with it now anyway?
It's also worth noting that there are quite a few seniors still living on campus. I've come across many in my own dorm.
It may seem exciting your junior or senior year to move off campus. But there are plenty of reasons for someone - even a senior - to stick around. Now, next time you come across a senior still living on campus, maybe you won't need to ask them why.
Again…why? For the rest of our lives, we'll be living "off campus," so to speak. Whether it's in an apartment, a house, or on the street, you've got to look after yourself. No one's gonna have your back 24/7 in the real world. Why not live it up in a huge hotel for students only while you still have the chance?
Another reason people feel the need to move off campus is so they can hold grand house parties. Excuse me for being naive, but I don't see why one would want to accept massive amounts of strangers into their home to drink all their alcohol, make a huge mess, and steal things.
I'm not saying anything against house parties; they are indeed far superior to anything that could be held at a dorm. It's just that when I'm at a house party, I want to be the one drinking all the alcohol, making a huge mess, and stealing things, not the one who has to worry about it (and, God bless them, clean up after it the next day).
Another common complaint about the dorms is living with a roommate. This problem is easily solved by the time you are a junior or a senior by simply applying for a single. Believe me, if I can get one (with my lengthy, multi-paged list of transgressions), you sure can.
Granted, watching more and more of my friends from freshman year disappear off campus has been a bit depressing, but we do our best to stay in contact. I guess losing touch with friends is going to become even more of a problem when we graduate, so why not start dealing with it now anyway?
It's also worth noting that there are quite a few seniors still living on campus. I've come across many in my own dorm.
It may seem exciting your junior or senior year to move off campus. But there are plenty of reasons for someone - even a senior - to stick around. Now, next time you come across a senior still living on campus, maybe you won't need to ask them why.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Doatsie
posted 9/19/07 @ 11:58 AM EST
Hello Anthony. Many (many) years ago when I was a Junior at UMass myself and 2 of my firends had the choice of going in together and renting an off campus apartment or being the 3 women in our dorm with the most "points" to qualify for the 3 singles that were available that year. (Continued…)
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