http://www.statepress.com/issues/2006/02/17/news/695804
Freshmen should live on campus, Tempe council says Housing should be cheaper to help fill residence halls
by Grayson Steinberg published on Friday, February 17, 2006
Members of the Tempe City Council said they thought all ASU freshmen should be required to live on campus at their issue review session Thursday.
The topic was discussed during a presentation on ASU student housing.
Students shouldn't need to search Tempe neighborhoods for places to live, said Councilman Ben Arredondo.
"As ASU grows ... we expect it to grow to meet the needs of their students," Arredondo said.
Students who live in residence halls as freshmen are more likely to graduate on time, said Stephanie Salazar, ASU's community outreach liaison.
Councilwoman Barb Carter said an environment of 52,000 students could be very disorienting to freshmen if they're not connected with the campus community.
"It's like an aphrodisiac, a drug," Carter said. "They get overwhelmed by the freedom."
Councilwoman Pam Goronkin said she thought the University should somehow make its housing more affordable for students.
Many people can find cheaper apartments off campus, so they avoid living in residence halls, Goronkin added.
Carter said she thought this was the reason not all beds on campus are currently full.
The Tempe campus has about 5,293 beds, of which 4,977 are occupied, Salazar said.
Freshman enrollment was 8,467 students in fall 2005.
The University should consider reducing residence hall costs so that even if ASU made less money overall, the halls would be full, Carter said.
But sufficient housing for all students wouldn't be practical, especially for older students, she added.
"They're not going to live in a dormitory," Carter said.
Vice Mayor Mark Mitchell said he hoped Tempe could work with ASU to alleviate parking problems and encourage public transportation use around campus.
"As ASU continues to build out, we need to make sure there's a plan in place for proper parking," he added.
This would keep students from parking their cars in surrounding neighborhoods due to a lack of spaces, Mitchell said.
Reach the reporter at grayson.steinberg@asu.edu.