Letter to the Editor: University does enough for off-campus students

Dear Editors:

I was torn between being bemused and being flabbergasted at Ani Ajith's column, "Off-campus apartment help not up to par" in Tuesday's Daily. Mr. Ajith's call for a "fully-staffed office" to help NU undergrads navigate the treacherous and complicated world of being an adult living a short distance from campus just made no sense.

While he says he doesn't want the University to find an apartment for him, he fervently wishes for . . . university-owned, off-campus housing. You know what such housing is called? Dorms. He worries about feeling like a commuter and not being engaged with campus life. All because of living on Ridge with a landlord instead of Sheridan Road with Residential Life? His "logic" assumes that three blocks of . . . commuting by foot (i.e., walking to school) would make it difficult to be involved with campus organizations and events. Why? Most common off-campus housing is closer to the main campus than North Campus is to South Campus, or either is to Ryan Field--yet students manage to navigate these vast distances to go to class, participate in events and cheer on the football team. In short, students who want to stay involved in the NU community have to do it for themselves: no office of administrators can force engagement, whether the students live in dorms or off campus.

I'd always thought that Northwestern undergraduates moved off campus to free themselves from the insidious tentacles of NU's prudish and puritanical administration and, simultaneously, to learn a few things about living in the real world. Like how to find "a good rental price" for an Evanston apartment (Uh, look in the paper for ads? See flyers from students looking for roommates? Talk to an upperclassman?). How much you can "bargain for utilities" (Not at all: pay what they demand, or sit weeping in a dark cold room without cable TV or wifi). How to tap a keg. You know, grown-up stuff.

Will Mr. Ajith expect the NU Alumni Relations office to help him with "the stressful and time-intensive process of searching for an apartment" after graduation? Just wondering.

Sincerely,

Bill Savage, PhD

Distinguished Senior Lecturer

Department of English