The Racquette

Issue date: 11/14/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Marshall “Mush” Hughes Students Melissa Karmel, Sierra Friberg and Kelly Fitchette hang out in a Knowles East dorm room last Wednesday night.

What makes college alluring to incoming students? From experience, it's not the prospect of taking classes, but the idea of living on one's own-free from the constant stalking of caretakers and having to be in bed by an early hour. Living on campus at SUNY Potsdam allows one to experience maturity by placing students in a stimulating environment they might not have received at home. Many students opt to live on campus for various reasons, but there is also a good number of students who choose to live off campus.

Whether one chooses to live on campus or not relies heavily on the individual. However, one must be aware that each will have its pros and cons-it depends on how you deal with each.

Students often focus intently on the negative aspects of living at SUNY Potsdam. However, there are a number of amenities associated with on-campus living, such as free cable, fully furnished rooms, free internet, quick access to other campus resources like Student Health Services, libraries, Student Accommodations Services, free gym access, as well as innumerable other advantages. The cons, however, can be rather numerable themselves-noisy roommates, messy floors, unkempt bathrooms, small living space, and overpriced food, to name a few.

Jeremiah Miller, a junior community health and psychology major with a minor in biology, believes living at SUNY Potsdam is beneficial, and less time consuming.

"In general I kind of like the idea. Before I came to college I thought maybe living off campus would be a better idea. I thought, monetary wise, it's reasonable to live off campus, but then again, when it comes to doing your school work, it's convenient to have access to resources on campus. On-campus living seems like a better idea for me, even though it tends to cost a little more."

He lingers over the thought a bit longer, before continuing. "Also, some of the relationships you build here can last a lifetime…off campus you wouldn't have that opportunity. If you can afford it, stay on campus."

Location also plays an important factor in on-campus living. Freshman Danielle Packard, who majors in music, lives in Knowles East. Knowles is ideal for students like Danielle, whose classes are held at Crane. She states, "I like Knowles 'cause I'm close to Crane." Her roommate, freshman Shiloh Davis, a psychology major, disagrees. Shiloh and Danielle live on the study intensive floor in Knowles East. Slightly annoyed at having to turn down her music during daylight hours, Shiloh exclaims, "I hate Knowles, I'd rather live in Bowman because we can't make any noise here." I asked her where would she live next year, and quickly both her and Danielle chimed, "we're getting a house ASAP, because first off, you can get an entire house for the same amount of money that you're paying for this tiny room!"

Continued...

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