Op-Ed
Thinking Outside the Box
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Next year I will live in a box. I plan to get one of those large cardboard boxes that refrigerators are delivered in and set up shop right by Collegetown Bagels. I even have ideas on how to pimp out my box so that I have the sickest living headquarters imaginable (magic markers, baby). Obviously, the winter may be a little difficult, but I'll work around it. (Two words: space heaters.) The good thing is that the box will be the same size as any bedroom in any apartment in Collegetown, and it will most definitely be cheaper than $800 a month. Once people realize that boxes are our way out of paying obscenely high prices to live in walking distance to both campus and the Palms, they will come. Soon there will be a whole community of boxed apartments in Collegetown, just like mine.
Seriously kids, housing in Collegetown is out of control. Fortunately for me, I have never had the opportunity to live there, and I am a junior (I know, it's crazy but so true). I could rephrase this as: Fortunately for my parents, they have never had to take out a second mortgage in order to provide me with a small space in which to subsist. For those of you who have only experienced student housing at Cornell, let me enlighten you with a little piece of information: it's not normal. Back in warmer days, I went to a large state school with a plethora of housing options. There were a number of apartment complexes, some being more expensive than others, but none of them came close to the costs of living on College Avenue. In fact, my cousin, who lives in Manhattan, pays less each month for rent than my friends living in Collegetown (Come on people, would you rather live in the Village or in 312? It's not a hard question.)
I know that complaining about the costs of living in Collegetown is not going to change anything – people still want to live there, and I don't blame them. And, obviously the few companies that hold the majority of real estate in Collegetown are in the position to charge whatever it is they charge because housing is in high demand. Still, you have to wonder why people are willing to part with several thousand dollars each year to live in one of these apartments. Having wealthy parents who earn larger salaries than the combined GDP of several small, third-world countries is nice, but not everyone who lives in Collegetown has a family yacht.
One reason that Collegetown prices are through the roof is because students move off-campus after their freshman year. I don't know any other school where parents move their kids into freshmen dorms and then, on the same day, search apartments and ask where their son/daughter should live next year. (I am pretty sure that when my parents moved me into my freshman dorm the only question they asked was when they could leave.) It is frustrating because there really is no need for sophomores to be living in Collegetown. Why would anyone want all of that responsibility so soon anyway? It seems to me that if you aren't old enough to be going to the bars in Collegetown, you also shouldn't be living above them. The fact that three out of four classes are living off- campus at one time is what drives the costs of living in Collegetown up - obviously, there is just not enough space on College Avenue for all of us.
Cornell has addressed the housing issue with its West Campus Residential Initiative. The University is in the process of revamping West Campus by tearing down older dormitories and replacing them with community living centers. (Two of these centers are already in place: the Alice Cook House and the Carl Becker House.) The WCRI is designed to encourage post-freshman year on-campus living, and to integrate faculty with students in one community.
It seems to me that the Residential Initiative will attract the same students who would already be interested in living on West Campus. Cornell is a pretty intense learning environment as it is, and a lot of students choose to live off-campus because they need a place to unwind that is separate from the academic aspect of the University. In addition, people move off-campus for more freedom. We don't want to be forced to sign on for a meal plan and attend community meetings. After living with a roommate and dealing with the on-campus shenanigans of freshmen year, students want a place of their own. Most colleges traded up dorm-style housing for apartment-style units a long time ago, which is why Cornell's Residential Initiative does not make any sense. Why build five buildings to act as community living centers when you could make three of them apartment-style dormitories? This in itself would encourage more students to stay on campus. I mean, I am sure community living probably works for a lot of students, but it doesn't have to be the only option that Cornell provides.
While the University has no obligation to create apartment housing for its students, I think that it would be in Cornell's best interest to address their demands (a.k.a. future alumni - catch my drift?). With apartments on West Campus, along with other possible incentives for residents, (free bus passes would be sweet) Cornell would definitely see an increase of students interested in living on campus. In addition, sophomores would have an alternative to living in Collegetown, and juniors and seniors would not have to pay insane prices to live in an off-campus apartment because the demand would drop.
Still, I wouldn't rule out the whole box idea.
Naomi Goldin is a junior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She can be contacted at ngg6@cornell.edu. Kit and Kaboodle will appear alternate Tuesdays.
Archived article by Naomi Goldin