On or off campus: the price of freedom

By: Alize Rosado

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y .- One of the things freshmen look forward to most is their chance to live in the off-campus apartments. It is the perfect chance for students to have some freedoms, while remaining close to school. However, for some students, living in the off-campus apartments can be more of an inconvenience than an amenity.

One of the issues with the classification of the apartments is that they are considered off-campus, even though they remain within the NU vicinity. Thus, the question arises should the off-campus apartments be considered on-campus?

While the off-campus apartments appear to be isolated, they still have to comply with campus rules. Students fall under the jurisdiction of Campus Safety and University policies, and their apartments have to comply with Niagara University rules. Students can have their apartments investigated by Community Advisors, which is not something that students would have to subject themselves to if they truly lived off-campus.

Additionally, students who do not have cars are placed in a difficult situation. There are no true places to buy reasonably priced groceries on campus, and paying for a full meal plan on top of paying fees for the apartment are not comparable to prices that students would encounter when living off-campus. Yes, there is a shuttle that is offered once a week for students to go off-campus stores, but if it does not correspond with students’ schedules, they have to rely on the food that NU offers. However, this means that students will be paying more money out of pocket than they would if they were traveling to grocery stores off-campus.

Interestingly, the Varsity Village apartments have freedoms similar to the off-campus apartments, but they are given the option for a comparable meal plan and housing fees. This is an option that would be possible to consider instilling for the apartments because it could open up more affordable avenues for students.

Do you think the off-campus apartments be should considered part of campus, or should they truly be considered “off-campus” and give students the full freedoms that come with it?