Adelphi's Back Alley

     The pathway behind Adelphi holds a lot of mystery in its appearance. During the day, it is a beautiful, subtropical landscape that has the look of a possible scene out of a romantic movie. As night falls though, it is a dimly lit alley that looks like it could be the location of some violent crime. In fact, just a few weeks ago, around midnight, a flurry of police activity in the area arose, including a helicopter. The event turned out to be an armed robbery a mere block away from my building. Locations with occurrences like this can be found across the entire city of Tempe, including the campus area. No matter what is done to protect the students by putting them in dorms, there will always be danger in some way or another.

 

[Source: Ryan Rash]

 

          Even though it would have made the work a lot easier, an isolated incident would not suffice to decide if dorms are unsafe or not. At Adelphi II, the dorm buildings are separated into sections called 'clusters'. I decided to ask ten students from the very northwest cluster (P) a question about their social life. First off, considering that ASU has a fully anti-alcohol campus, I am sure they would label partying with alcohol as a danger to their safety. I asked the unnamed students how many days they drank alcohol last week and 6 out of 10 students told me that they had consumed alcohol more than once in the previous week, not including the weekend.

      Because there are so many opportunities to party and be mischievous in a college town, there is no way that endorsing the use of dorms can truly keep the students safe. Simply put, a kid is going to go out if he wants to go out.

Synopsis

      Arizona State University is a great school. I have known that since my sister attended years ago and I saw her grow academically and as a person. However, in those days, I was too young to understand the logistics that go into the college experience. A new college student goes through a huge transition of change that they can never be truly prepared for, especially if they happen to live in a dorm. Additionally, colleges across the country, specifically ASU, claim to create an environment that eases that transition. They use phrases like "best interest of student" or "building a sense of community" to justify policies that force students into sometimes unwilling circumstances. This is a foggy situation because when one body (school) decides what is best for another body (student), the best answer gets lost in translation, so to speak. A university where dorm life is a requirement for first year students has a negative effect on those students.
     To know if there is any truth to the seemingly good intentions of Arizona State University, it was necessary to conduct some brief research to find out exactly why the school forces the dorm life on its students and found three criteria to evaluate. It is apparent that the overall safety of residents, building a strong, lasting community and affordability of all college related costs are the distinct aspects of life that are connected with dorm living.
     Repeatedly throughout the network of pages on their website, ASU makes references to the importance of keeping students safe. More importantly, they consider dormitories to increase the level of safety because of supervision by peers. This is an obvious ploy to prevent or decrease dangerous behaviors like drinking alcohol and drug usage which brings the discussion to the effectiveness of that plan. With a reputation for one of the best party schools in the country, it is easy to see how shedding that rep is a top priority. The question still remains if it works or not though. By simply asking ten random peers in my community, I found that it is not completely effective.
     Establishing a community of connected peers is absolutely the criterion that I found to be most productive in my study. This collection is not the first to investigate how dorms change the college experience, whether it be positive or harmful. There is an article that approaches the relationship between dorm life and students' ability to deal with the idea of diversity. The results, although unable to be applied expansively, showed that students who live in dorms become more open to diversity. That being said, I do not think it is as successful as the school would like it to be. Much of that evaluation is based on the community within Adelphi Commons II.
     If you were to ask the average family what they considered to be the number one criteria for picking a college, I would be willing to bet that their answer would touch on money/affordability. It is simply impossible for families, excluding the wealthy, to overlook cost. In contrast, there is such a thing called cost effectiveness, or "getting bang for your buck". Tuition wise, ASU has a very low price when compared to other public universities so they do have some leverage in using the dorm requirement policy. On the other hand, there is more that goes into the total cost of attending a university like the cost of a dorm. Upon my examination, the amount necessary to live at a dorm such as Adelphi Commons II is purely exorbitant when compared to the cost of other comparable housing options in Tempe.
     It is evident in breaking down these criteria that there are statements here and there that oppose my thesis. Some may perceive that as a weakness in my argument, but I believe that exposing the opposition to an argument makes it stronger. In all the supposed weakness, there is a clear conclusion from my findings. Forcing incoming students to either live at home and drive or live in a dorm is not in their best interest. I would not go as far to say that it is an abuse of power but it is certainly a result of a collegiate agenda gone wrong.

The Less-Than-Glamorous Living

     When it comes to college, affordability is a major priority for everyone; to some, it may be the top priority. It costs $6,098 a school year to live in Adelphi Commons II, utilities included. I understand that it is difficult to put in perspective, so when the cost is averaged monthly (roughly 8 months in school), the cost is $750 a month. At a glance, this price is actually very comparable to some of the 2 bedroom apartments (only apartments that had utilities included were considered) in the area. However, it is easy to see that the dorm is twice as expensive because both residents of a dorm have to pay the $750 monthly due, instead of splitting it as they would in an apartment. This simple price comparison explains how the university is essentially naming their own price because they are able to require students to live on their facilities.

 

 [Source: Ryan Rash]
         

     Universities are known for their desire to increase profit, such as any business would, but this, in no way results in a profit for students. Cost of dorm living has a big effect on students and they are almost entirely negative. By my evaluation, there is no way that ASU can force a certain price point on students and say it is in those kids best interest. That very act negates any attempt to help us as students.
     I am not blind to the reasons ASU does this, including safety, sense of community, etc. but I do get the sense that they are overlooking the financial interests of their students to better their own. Bottom line, nothing is visible that would suggest campus living could benefit me financially.

A Community of Strangers

     On ASU's official website, there is a page dedicated to informing prospective students of what they can expect going into their freshman years. The page includes details about housing that outline an experience of a "close-knit culture" and "creative connections" that result from living in dorms that house students with similar majors (ASU.edu). First of all, from personal experience, I can assure that in Adelphi II, the community is not close-knit and creative connections are not being made. I am not saying I have not made friends because that would be a lie, but I am saying that when my peers and I are in our dorms, we are usually working on homework or sleeping.
      A study was done at "a major research university in the Midwest" on how dorms effect students openness to diversity (Pike 284).The results showed that dorm life does help students more become accepting of diverse situations. While these findings seemingly provide a compelling counter-argument against my thesis, this was only conducted at one school so the theory is limited. First off, 73% of the participants in the study were female, and only 8 percent were in a minority group. So, as it may suggest a positive outcome, the variables did not allow for clean research. It exposes students to a fresh environment and challenges students to grow as people, but there is a catch. That justification for personal growth does not apply to forcing students into it. Community exists everywhere and it does not have to be limited to campus-sanctioned locations.

[Source: Ryan Rash]

 



 





Annotated Map Draft

     Upon clicking "click here to view as larger map", you will be able to see the introduction to what the map entails.

View Evaluative Research: Dorm Living in a larger map

Works Cited

"Future Residents." Arizona State University, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <http://housing.asu.edu/content/future-residents>.

Pike, Gary R. "The Differential Effects of On- and Off-Campus Living Arrangements on Students’ Openness to Diversity*." Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice 46.4 (2009): n. pag. Print.

Rozakis, Laurie, Ph.D. "Movin' In." The Complete Idiot's Guide to College Survival. N.p.: Marie Butler Knight, 2001. N. pag. Print.

Research Sources: Dorm Living

     It is in the policy of Arizona State University to require all incoming students to live in the dorms. Some are able to live at home but they must apply for an exception whether it be for financial reasons or anything else, and ASU then decides their residential fate. Obviously, this is their policy because they believe it is in the best interest of the students to live in an environment patrolled by university-employed individuals. I want to look deeper into the situation to see if the evidence affirms or disavows their claim.
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     Coming into this school year, along with all the stress of applying for college, my living situation was at the top of my list of priorities. Although I had some prior knowledge of their policies, I was disappointed to learn that besides (the possibility of) living at home, which was not on the table for me, dorm life was my only choice. The honest reason being that I feared that the horror stories of dorm situations going wrong would become my reality. As I am a typical rebellious teen, I was motivated to search for any loopholes in the system, but found non that made sense.
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     As a close friend and I grew closer to our time in higher education, we consistently discussed living in an apartment near campus instead of a dorm. Among many others, we found a viable option that would be less expensive than paying for the dorm that I am currently in, Adelphi Commons II (A2). Popular apartment complexes like The Vue and Sonoran Ridge Apartments offer 2 bedroom/ 2 bathroom setups that are a little less than half the price of A2 when considering the fact that the price is split between two individuals instead of the same for both residents. I was pretty upset to find this because the fact that ASU is able to charge double the average price of living in the area is a travesty. More goes into the best interest of a student than money though so I plan to investigate the actual benefits and setbacks of dorm life.
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     To see if living in the dorms creates the best possible environment for first year students, it is important to understand what determines that. Other than financial reasons, there are many areas of grey when it comes to finding out if the university is playing fair. I concluded that the best approach is to examine the benefits listed on ASU's collection of residential pages on their website. Immediately, I found that they place a lot of importance on building relationships. Students living in the same dorm will generally be in the same general field of study and ASU believes that this will create long-lasting relationships throughout their careers of choice. Another justification for the requirements is the safety of the student so I will most definitely look into that.
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     I think that the three areas of concern outlined above provide a good start for my research and will lead to more ideas on how to really discover if living in dorms at ASU is the optimal choice.
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     "The Complete Idiot's Guide to College Survival" by Laurie Rozakis, Ph.D. (Part 1: Movin' In)
This book provides a mix of input from thriving college students and analysis from Rozakis who uses her expertise in book writing to create a tool for all expecting college students to succeed in school. Part 1 of the book discusses everything involving living on campus from Greek life to choosing the right dorm. I was interested  in the book because the title loosely applied to my topic, but upon reading the first couple of pages, I saw that it had specific details regarding my topic. The first section goes into detail about the right choices to make in college and how those choices effect you.
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     "The Differential Effects of On- and Off-Campus Living Arrangements on Students’ Openness to Diversity" by Gary R. Pike (Conclusion)
This article analyzes how living on campus can directly effect students' openness to diversity, just as the title reads. The conclusion reveals that the study conducted found that living in dorms increases students' acceptance of diverse societies. It provides a benchmark of the opposite side of my argument to compare to what I am arguing for. It shows me that I need to remember that there are two sides to every argument and I have to keep opposing points in mind when arguing my point.
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     "Future Residents" 
This is an internal page on ASU's website that addresses many of the questions that potential dorm residents may have. I was interested in this source because it supplie sinformation straight from the horse's mouth. It adds authenticity to my research. All of the information on the page is optimistic and explains how campus living will attribute to a successful tenure at ASU.

Evaluation: Lawless

   In late August of this year, the movie Lawless was released in theatres. Tom Hardy, Shia LeBouf, Gary Oldman and company star in a true story filled with wild moonshine runs, desperation, and determination. During prohibition, bootlegging alcohol was a highly profitable business venture. In Lawless, Forrest Bondurant(Hardy) develops an efficient moonshining network, which in fact, becomes so well-known that the local authorites are forced to resort to the big guns, aka Charley Rakes. Guy Pearce plays an equally confident and brutal role as a government investigator with a very clear intention - take Forrest Bondurant and his miscreant brothers away from this town, dead or alive...
   It has become routine for me now to assess a movie as I'm watching it to try and discover what the director is developing. This was very easy during Lawless because of how thoroughly the brotherhood of the Bondurants was portrayed. The bond of the three brothers is without a doubt the driving force behind the film, as they persevere through countless attacks by Rakes' goons and emerge victorious against all odds. Take away the plot events and you still have a strong enough display of brotherly love for a decent movie in its self.
   Obviously director John Hillcoat elected to include a plot though, which truly allows his film to soar. He brings the brothers business from carefree and flourishing through trials of unimaginable grit all to come down to a final stand against the infamous Charley Rakes. Hillcoat's take on western-turned-gangster is wonderfully fresh and gained my approval.
   Above all, this film was entertaining. In the world of movie critics, it is too easy to simply say you enjoyed it because it was entertaining but I think that is because the true definition of entertainment has been smeared by simple-minded movies. Lawless succeeded on a deep enough level to pass my tests of plot and driving force so I consider it a very well done movie.