Adam Ullerich | Staff Writer

The mates chosen, points tallied, and the results are in. Looks like I will not be living in a suite next year!

Big question: where am I going to live next semester?

Not even 12 hours after I heard the *sniff sniff* news that my mates and I did not get a suite for next semester, I received an offer to rent out and live in a house located in Lakeside, Iowa. This is a 3 bedroom and 2 bathroom house with a front porch, lake view, garage, extra parking spots and a front and back yard. Obviously, I was intrigued right away. Who does not want to have their “own place” where they are solely responsible for the up-keep and longevity of the building? Who does not want to have to lease a room and furniture from the university and be held responsible for any damages that accrue in the rooms and surrounding areas?

To begin my quest to live off campus, I started asking questions. How much a month? ($800.) Utilities included? (Utilities are extra.) Full use of garage? (There will be a little bit of storage done by the owners of the house across the street, but for the most part yes, you will get the whole garage.)

I was already sold. Rent/utilities would come out to (at most) $1,000 a month. This is also split between 3 people- so $333.33 a month to have your own bedroom, three quarters of a bathroom, and a living room and kitchen to share. I can live with that..literally.

Currently, room and board at BVU is about $8,500 for 2 semesters. So let’s just go with $900 dollars a month. Do you know how much of a bummer this is to hear? I can rent a house with all the trimmings for less per month than a dorm room or suite at BVU. That’s without any housemates either, as we already saw with all the bedrooms full the price is a third of that for each individual. Of course I would have to keep the place clean, but heck, that’s no different from the suites.

Tuition is rising. Would not the lack of responsibility and cost of upkeep on campus housing alleviate some of this increase? Would students not be able to experience a more realistic college experience in which they can actually go to jail for underage drinking and not get a legal “bailout” by a university that keeps most altercations in-house as to maintain their image? The list goes on and on. But as to return to the main point of this article – it can be cheaper to live off campus. With students taking the responsibility of housing, this would lower total tuition cost per semester or at least make more funds available for, you know, professors, facilities, or anything that contributes positively to student development and education.