Living on campus is more than just posting your Looney-Tunes door decorations on your Instagram story during move-in. With Arizona State University Downtown Phoenix campus only having one residential hall for freshman and certain upper-classmen to reside in, a majority of its students are missing out on the opportunities that might have made previous residents grow exponentially.
In 2006, the Downtown campus was established, bringing more attention to the fifth-largest city in the nation. Taylor Place is the only residential hall at the Downtown campus, starting at $4,720 per semester. The issue of affordable living in Downtown Phoenix has increased, as it can be hard to find regardless of what school you attend or job you work at.
"One of our big jobs being to try to help students who aren't living in Taylor Place feel connected to the rest of the campus or cohort," Community Assistant Jamison Whitten explained the general concern among all the community assistants that the on-campus freshman experience is an essential aspect of the university's priorities.
There are many benefits to residing on campus, including but not limited to:
- More access to a variety of resources: According to a study done by the Association of College and University Housing Officers – International, data showed that students living on campus were given access to more resources to smoothly adjust to the rigorous academics and new social environment. This could be through impromptu study sessions in the floor lounge or the Residential College Student Leader down the hall who might know which professor you would like for Chem 102 next semester.
- More likely to get better grades: According to a study done by Old Dominion University, data showed that students living on campus were earning higher GPAs than those who were not. Being a 10-minute walk from class is harder to not attend office hours for in comparison to even a 10-minute drive.
- More likely to have better mental health: In a study conducted for an honors thesis at Texas State University, data showed that there was a correlation between high-quality mental health and living on-campus. Maybe in between ENG 102 powerpoint slides, you'll find yourself investigating America's Got Talent audition sign-ups. Those floors Just Dance nights really make a difference when being away from home.
Although living in a Tempe residential hall is an alternative option for those who cannot get a room in Taylor Place when at capacity, second-year Aldwin Galang believes his experience living in Tempe his first year cannot compare to the close-knit Downtown community.
"Building a new housing complex will help ASU Downtown students to feel welcomed by their own individual college, as living in a different campus makes the opportunity to get involved with the college a bit more challenging," Galang emphasized as he believes that was a setback in his first year at the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation.
As of right now, ASU Downtown Housing is leasing out four floors at Roosevelt Point, an apartment complex nearby, in order to expand the community outside of Taylor Place by sending students' leaders to help guide each of their residents.
Becoming a Community Assistant or Residential College Student Leader is a competitive position to attain, but is one of the options for being able to afford housing as each student in one of those two roles gets free housing for their work.
Whitten expressed, "It's definitely one of the higher tiered on-campus jobs that you can obtain. ASU does really care about their freshman, so they are going to try to put well-rounded people in these positions to best connect with them."
Trying to find affordable housing poses challenges for students who manage: school, jobs, a social life, extracurricular activities, health, family, and any other minor inconvenience thrown their way. It seems impossible with the rates that tenants are asking for. Paz Malo, Grand Canyon University student living Downtown for the purpose of her full-time job, shares that ASU students aren't the only ones suffering from this problem.
"Having to work and pay rent in these apartments is a total nightmare. As someone who has a more open availability with only two days of class a week, I can't even imagine having an on-campus job while trying to work with a regular schedule where you have class most days of the week," Malo said.
As there are many moving parts to fixing the issue, ASU Downtown Housing is working towards constructing a new complex for students, upperclassmen and graduate students included, which is projected to be ready for Fall 2021 move-in. As for now, student leaders are doing what they can in order to bring together the scattered freshman cohort to avoid their first interaction being graduation gown pick-up day.
