NU students enjoy freedom of living off campus

By Candace Bushey
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

For Jeremiah Johnson, living off campus provides not only freedom but an opportunity to experience the real world before graduating.

According to Johnson, 22, an architecture major from Northwood, N.H., he lives off campus because he wanted to be able to make an easier transition to living in the real world.

"The negatives of campus living is that there is no responsibility," Johnson said. "The rules are too strict, the food is horrible and it's just no fun.

"Once students hit 21, 22 years old, they shouldn't have to live to those rules, they should start feeling what it's like to live in the real world," Johnson said.

Most Norwich students who choose to live off campus don't do so to party, but to gain more independence and responsibility.

"I like the freedom of living on my own and not having to deal with the issues that come about on campus," said Allison Tamosaitis, 21, an architecture major from Plymouth, Mass. "I come home from class and I can really get away from school."

"I live with my family," said Christine Finch, 21, a psychology major from Northfield, Vt., "I have all the comforts of home, and in the long run I will have saved a ton of money."

Economics, independence and rules are why some students choose to move off-campus according to Martha Mathis, the Dean of Students. "There are those students who can live in a situation that makes it really economical."

"I think it's cheaper to live off campus," said Tamosaitis, "Rent and living expenses for one year are less than what Norwich charges for eight and a half months, about $5,200."

Since the housing crunch, Mathis would like the older students to consider living on the Vermont College campus. "The rooms are nice, and it's quiet."

"As it is right now there's not enough housing on the hill," said Adam Seelig, 22, an architecture major from Bedminster, N.J., "They need a place to put the students so the next best place is off campus."

For Johnson, Tamosaitis and Seelig, they would all choose to live off campus even if an upperclassman dorm or Vermont College room were offered to them.

"There is more freedom," Seelig said, "There are no quiet hours or stupid rules of that nature."

"Instead of 40 on the floor, you might have two or three that you have to negotiate household chores and quiet times," Mathis said. "There's an assumption that if you move away from my rules in the dorms, that there aren't any in the community, until the police come to your door."

According to Mathis, when students leave the dorms they are going into another kind of community where the rules might not be as clear as they are in the student handbook.

"In my neighborhood we have tons of problems," said William Estill, Professor of Communications, who has leased his apartment to eight Norwich students since 1992.

Although Estill has not personally had major problems with Norwich students as renters, he said: "I make it a part of the lease that they can't have parties, but they do."

"We lay the guidelines of what we expect of them clearly in the beginning," said Carrie Wright, an Insurance Agent at Mayo Associates and a current landlord to Norwich students. "I just didn't want a wild party there every weekend. I still have teenagers, so I do understand that they're going to occasionally have parties."

"You can't expect students to be perfect 365 days a year anymore than you can expect adults," Wright said, "I think you have to be a little bit more tolerant than you normally would be."

Wright has a three-strike rule, while Estill tells tenants not to do it again; if asked a second time, he asks them to move. In the last eight years he has only asked one student to move.

"We're not going to harbor that behavior," Mathis said. "If your landlord has already given you a warning, than I'm going to support the landlord for asking you to move."

"My main concern is that nothing gets broken and nobody gets hurt," Wright said. "The damage they could do to their own lives by having too much to drink and getting in a car."

"In my experience we haven't had any problem with them (commuter students)," Wright said, "ninety-nine percent of the time I don't think the students are the problem, but there is hesitation on the part of people because they don't want to go through the hassle of having it become party central."

Mathis said it's not so much the kids who are the leaseholders of the apartment, it's everybody that knows you're there on a Friday night.

"People just end up at your house; that's one of the main drawbacks of moving off campus, in my opinion," Mathis said. "It sets you up."

"It's also the landlord's responsibility to ensure that they get people that meet the community rules for what is decent and right," Estill said. "It's a double-edged sword, because the market for the apartments is only so good because of Norwich."

Despite his one major problem, Estill would rent his apartment again to the best student combination that he could find.

There have been about 10 complaints this year out of the estimated 280 commuter students, according to Mathis, which is much lower than last year.

"I don't believe the reputation is as bad as a few people are making it out to be. I think you have had a couple of incidents that have been blown up," Wright said. "You can't judge every single student by one or two students who happen to get into trouble.

"The ones that are being bad are giving the good students a bad name. That's unfortunately human nature," Wright said.

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