Housing Policy Change

iamsirjoshua
Sat, 09 Jan 2010 05:27:34 +0000

Hi, I’m a current junior at AU and I currently live in an apartment leased by AU in an apartment building (The Berkshires) which is nearly adjacent to campus. So while technically I am an “on-campus” resident, I don’t actually live on campus. Despite this I am still able to walk to all of my classes and actively participate in campus life.

To the original poster: I wouldn’t worry, as in my experience the vast majority of upperclassmen move off campus regardless, so honestly once the dust settles from this announcement the status quo will likely change very little. One reason so many move off is that the majority of dorms on AU’s campus are for underclassmen, which will be remedied in the next few years with construction, but obviously that’s a bit off. Another reason is that there is an abundance of housing in the immediate area. Northwest DC isn’t cheap, but with roommates most apartments turn out to be cheaper than AU housing and many are within walking distances of campus.

As far as a prospective freshmen is concerned, this is more immediately beneficial as this move is meant to decrease the number of triple rooms for freshmen, and by the time your S is an upperclassmen there will likely be more options for on-campus upperclassmen housing. I also speak from the experience of someone who lived in a triple room freshmen year, so I can also say it’s really not that bad (I was offered the option of de-tripling twice but turned it down).

The two buildings currently being converted to dorms (opening this fall) were originally dorms, but were changed to offices when the current high-rise dorms were built. Now they are being converted back to their original purpose as a temporary measure to alleviate dorm overcrowding. Within the next year a third building in the same complex is set to be converted back to a dorm as well. I attended a campus planning meeting a few months back, and plans for new housing definitely topped the list of priorities and were a frequent topic of discussion.

It’s also worth noting that to go along with these efforts, the Housing and Dining department is really ramping up efforts to make partnerships with off-campus housing complexes and to help students find off-campus housing. If your S is interested in AU, this would not be a reason to remove it from his list. It’s a great school in many respects. In fact, what caused this housing problem in the first place is the increasing national profile of the school - most of the current dorms have been in place since the 60’s and this has only become a serious problem in the last 5-6 years or so.