Students living on campus will pay high prices for housing in the fall, as residence costs rise 4.8 percent on average from last year's rates.
Rising housing and tuition expenses are difficult for students to budget, especially as families continue to feel the effects of the recession on their income and job security.
Several factors are driving the rising costs, including yearly inflation and pay and retirement increases for faculty that are required by — but not funded by — the state. The costs also account for renovations that are badly needed in decrepit dorms like the Roost and Bates West.
Living on campus has been shown to raise GPAs and campus involvement and decrease chances of dropping out. So while freshmen may be frustrated with the costs for mandatory on-campus housing, it does pay dividends. And housing that is cleaner and safer and has more amenities will benefit students even more, so we are glad to see USC going through with its master housing plan, though it's extremely important that the university controls costs in the process.
Students living on campus must do their part to keep dorms in working order.
Walking through residence halls, it's easy to spot examples of reckless behavior: signs vandalized, paint stripped because of wall art, common room furniture stained. We are responsible for mitigating wear and tear on residences and taking care of the rooms that cost as much as $7,000 per year to live in. If students do their part to defray cost increases and make on-campus housing a more attractive option, we'll all be able to sleep easier.
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