Author: Elena Fuell
It’s that time of year again. The flowers are blooming, finals are looming and fresh property is in the air. Off-campus housing appeals to many upperclassmen for a variety of reasons, but finding a house or apartment to rent can be quite a daunting task. While affordable housing nearby can be difficult to find, competition for some houses can be downright vicious.
THE SEARCH
The searching begins by the end of the fall semester and picks up speed in the spring. The alleged blood bath resulting from fierce competition among students trying to land the ideal house is not as life-threatening as the grapevine would lead you to believe, but competition has been known to rear its ugly head and bare its teeth. The more popular, “named” student houses, such as Fairy House, White House, Jail House, Porch House and Papa House, to name a few, are highly sought after by students looking to live just off campus. “It depends on the house, our house was virtually unknown so we had little competition, but usually if you want one of the main places like Jailhouse, Compound, etc. you need to know the people that are moving out,” Jon King (senior) said.
After finding the ideal house, students will go all out to impress the landlord and out-do other interested groups. “I think White House was partially so competitive because of its location, but also the landlord had been sued before because past Oxy residents threw loud parties and were convicted of obstructing the peace,” Casey Weiss (senior) said. “One of my housemates had the brilliant idea of sending our resumes, GPAs and cover letters to the landlord.”
Word of mouth proves fruitful and talking up the current residents never hurts. “It helps if you know a senior who lives there and you can “call dibs” on the house. In my opinion there are only a few reasonably priced and well located houses off campus and those are the ones that go fast,” Jessica Harris (junior) said.
On their website the Office of Housing Services offers a link to a listing of available houses in and around Eagle Rock. “Residence life has been assuming a greater role on campus in general . . . [and] that does involve stuff that occurs off campus,” Assistant Director of Housing Services Serenity Blauvelt said. The website also has several helpful links offering advice and tips on how to get started, what precautions to take before signing a lease, important phone numbers to have on hand and ways to responsibly host events and parties. Other popular sites listing available houses and apartments are www.craigslist.com and www.westsiderental.com.
The opening of the new residence hall for the spring 2008 semester provides another living option for students, but it is not expected to cause a significant increase in the proportion of students living on campus. “The number of students is increasing so we will probably see an increase [in on campus residents] regardless of the new building,” Blauvelt said.
MONEY MATTERS
The cost benefits of off-campus housing vary depending on the house and number of people living there. Students commonly divide rent either based on room size or equally between all residents. While monthly rent is cheaper for off-campus compared to the residence halls, most students sign a 12-month lease and are therefore paying for about four more months of housing than on-campus residents. A small single on campus costs $6,160 for the academic year, which averages out to $770 per month for eight months. Room and board for the upcoming academic year is $9,500 or $1187.50 per month. Monthly rent per person for off-campus housing ranges from $500 to more than $850. Of the students who disclosed their monthly rent, the average payment was about $650 per month. That totals $7,800 for the full year. Students said they spend an average of $250 on food per month, which totals $2,000 for the eight months at school, still cheaper than both meal plans A and B. While these are simply estimates and costs will vary greatly depending on where one lives and how much they eat, it is possible to live off-campus for a smaller expense than living in residence halls.
This remains true for students receiving financial aid as well. Financial aid packages are calculated based on the difference between tuition costs and the expected family contribution. Student need is not affected by moving off campus, so “they get the same as they would if they were living on-campus,” Director of Financial Aid Maureen McRae Levy said. For some students financial aid exceeds the cost of only tuition so when they move off-campus they are refunded part of the aid package. “Some students get a refund to put towards off campus costs [because] the college isn’t charging for room and board,” McRae Levy said. “It really depends on how needy the student is [and] we always encourage students to come in for one-on-one consulting.”
NEIGHBORLY CONCERNS
The independence of off-campus living includes the freedom to host parties and events without being directly under the watchful eyes of Campus Safety and the administration. Students do have to be courteous of other housemates, neighbors and, in a worst-case scenario, L.A.P.D. Neighbors have been known to voice complaints regarding noise, inappropriate conduct and littering in the neighborhood. In an attempt to improve students’ relations with the community and maintain open communication between students and permanent residents, Devon Puglia (junior) initiated the “Occidental-Eagle Rock Neighborhood Partnership” last November. “I started the meeting out of growing concern about neighbor relations,” Puglia said. “Every year neighbors get more and more upset about off campus parties and this was initiated to give Eagle Rock residents an outlet to voice their concerns.”
Students, administrators and community members met once during the fall semester and discussed issues, resolved some misunderstandings and reached a compromise regarding off-campus parties in particular. “With a few simple steps students can continue the tradition of off campus parties while demonstrating respect for their neighbors and showing that Oxy is not a detriment to the community,” Senior Associate Dean of Students Jonathan O’Brien said. “Specifically, students can negotiate their own party protocol with their local neighbors.”
“The neighbors are very friendly, so long as their quality of life is not reduced by off-campus events. Part of what we aimed to do was to teach students how to throw a party while still remaining respectful of the neighbors,” Puglia said. Although there have been subsequent complaints since the November meeting, overall the tensions between permanent residents and students have decreased. Several steps students have taken to maintain good relations with the community include notifying neighbors of parties in advance, providing contact information to voice any complaints and a promise to clean up afterwards, O’Brien said. “I do note that [neighbors] are less frustrated and usually report some level of attempt to communicate about the problems. This is a marked improvement from when I first started doing this last spring,” he said.
PROS AND CONS
Students cited many advantages of living off-campus instead of in the residence halls. Living off-campus is undoubtedly accompanied by a greater sense of independence. The experience is much closer to the post-graduation reality than the convenience of on-campus living. “I think that it is a really good transition to living in ‘the real world.’ It helps me manage my money, pay my own bills and has forced me to learn how to cook,” Weiss said. “In addition, there are the more obvious benefits of having a living room, having 24-hour access to a fridge, having lots of freedom, and living in close proximity with your friends.”
Many students said they enjoyed the personal space that having their own room provides. Living in a residence hall can pretty much eliminate alone time, which students said is much needed once in a while. “It’s rea
lly nice to be able to have a life wholly separate from campus. For me, I really need alone time, and living in the dorms really cuts into that,” King said.
At the same time, it is not always fun to shop for groceries, clean the bathroom and pay bills every month. “It was so nice having the Marketplace and the library always there,” Weiss said. The conveniences of on-campus living extend beyond proximity to food and buildings-residence halls also provide a built in social atmosphere. “Food isn’t pre-prepared and available at the swipe of a card,” King said. “Also, you have to put a lot more effort into friendships and social situations.”
For those looking for the freedom and independence of having a place to call home that is separate from Oxy, the off-campus experience is undoubtedly worthwhile. “Nothing at all, I guess remembering to pay my rent every month,” Harris said of the difficulties of living off-campus. “[It is a] small price to pay for freedom and cheapness.” Others are in no rush to tackle the responsibilities that accompany off-campus housing when they can take advantage of the benefits and conveniences of on-campus living. “Living on-campus I feel more involved with the campus community,” Mandarin Yan (junior) said. “I think living off-campus I would feel ostracized.” It all comes down to personal preference and individual circumstance, but for those in search of an experience different from residence hall life, Eagle Rock and the neighborhoods surrounding Oxy can provide just that.
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