Spring Break
Dorms not the solution
Issue date: 11/6/09 Section: Editorial/Opinion
11/06/09 - In a town council meeting last month, University of Rhode Island Vice President of Student Affairs Tom Dougan discussed problems of off-campus student behavior.
Dougan said that according to police reports, the problems of underage drinking, loudness and large crowds are growing.
To counter the problems, some town members at the meeting suggested that URI build more on-campus housing to accommodate 4,000-5,000 more students. By doing this, students would be more compelled to live at URI rather than move to Narragansett.
However, simply building residence halls doesn't mean students will come. If URI built rooms to accommodate up to 5,000 students, many dorms would be unoccupied.
Just last month tuition for the 2010-2011 academic year at URI increased by 9.9 percent and the price for room and board increased by 5 percent. Room and board currently costs $10,638, according to the URI Web site.
Rent for off-campus housing in Narragansett can cost much less. According to Narragansett realtor, Durkin Cottages' Web site, one house in particular, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, costs $1350 a month. Per person, this costs $450 a month, or $5,400 a year. Another costs just $291 a month per person.
Of course, the cost of food and utilities is not included in the price of the house, but students living off campus also have the ability to make choices. They can choose to eat whatever foods they want, whether or not to have cable TV, and also who their roommates should be. At the same time, students living off campus are paying rent for a house, and not a dorm room.
Making an effort to alleviate off-campus rowdiness is an important task for the university, but building more residence halls is not the proper solution.
And while the state of Rhode Island is responsible for the increasing fees of room and board, URI must realize the price tag for living on campus is unattractive.
According to URI President David Dooley, there will be a new residence hall in the fall of 2012 with 450 rooms. But if the current trend of increasing prices for tuition and room and board keeps up, students will still be compelled to move to Narragansett.
Dougan said that according to police reports, the problems of underage drinking, loudness and large crowds are growing.
To counter the problems, some town members at the meeting suggested that URI build more on-campus housing to accommodate 4,000-5,000 more students. By doing this, students would be more compelled to live at URI rather than move to Narragansett.
However, simply building residence halls doesn't mean students will come. If URI built rooms to accommodate up to 5,000 students, many dorms would be unoccupied.
Just last month tuition for the 2010-2011 academic year at URI increased by 9.9 percent and the price for room and board increased by 5 percent. Room and board currently costs $10,638, according to the URI Web site.
Rent for off-campus housing in Narragansett can cost much less. According to Narragansett realtor, Durkin Cottages' Web site, one house in particular, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, costs $1350 a month. Per person, this costs $450 a month, or $5,400 a year. Another costs just $291 a month per person.
Of course, the cost of food and utilities is not included in the price of the house, but students living off campus also have the ability to make choices. They can choose to eat whatever foods they want, whether or not to have cable TV, and also who their roommates should be. At the same time, students living off campus are paying rent for a house, and not a dorm room.
Making an effort to alleviate off-campus rowdiness is an important task for the university, but building more residence halls is not the proper solution.
And while the state of Rhode Island is responsible for the increasing fees of room and board, URI must realize the price tag for living on campus is unattractive.
According to URI President David Dooley, there will be a new residence hall in the fall of 2012 with 450 rooms. But if the current trend of increasing prices for tuition and room and board keeps up, students will still be compelled to move to Narragansett.
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