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Living with other student-athletes ‘builds chemistry... translates to the field
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COURTESY OF OSU ATHLETICS
Kyle Dernedde, a redshirt freshman, plays both infield and outfield for Oregon State Baseball and lives with three other student-athletes.
Living with other studentathletes ‘builds chemistry... translates to the field’
OSU Baseball player discusses what it is like living with current and former teammates.
By BENJAMIN RABBINO Sports Contributor
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, moving back to Corvallis, Ore. to enroll in school, even if it’s online, brings up issues about where and with whom people will live.
That extends beyond regular students and brings up more issues regarding guidelines and protocols to follow for student-athletes who are enrolled at Oregon State by means of athletic scholarships.
Kyle Dernedde, a redshirt freshman, or COVID Freshman as he put it, plays both infield and outfield for Oregon State. Dernedde lives with teammates Jack Washburn, a redshirt freshman pitcher, Micah McDowell, a redshirt freshman outfielder, and former OSU player Wyatt Young.
Washburn is from Webster, Wis., while Young grew up and still has family in Houston, Texas. McDowell, meanwhile, comes the furthest from Oregon State, as he originally hails from Nova Scotia, Canada.
In a recent interview, Dernedde talked about how he views his housing situation and if he finds that living with his teammates leads to greater chemistry on the field. Although none of them knew each other before coming to college, they all quickly learned to get along and enjoy time together after their freshman seasons.
Q: Would you say that it is an advantage to have roommates on the baseball team? Do you find that you are doing the same activities most of the time?
A: Yes. It is definitely an advantage for us to live together rather than to not, especially for the team. I would say that we are always together for the most part, outside of practice that is. I think this whole year has brought the four of us closer than we would have thought, and it translates onto the field it feels like we have a different type of chemistry out there. We almost have the same daily schedules. In practice we might be split up to do different position work, but after that we are right back together as a group. It is nice living outside of a dorm hall or apartment complex, feeling like we can go back to somewhere where you can’t be bothered.
Q: Are there any disadvantages to living off campus, rather than on campus in a dorm like Tebeau Hall?
See STUDENTATHLETE HOUSING page 20
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This house on 1010 NW 10th St. is one of the houses Duerksen & Associate Inc. rents out in the City of Corvallis, Ore. Duerksen & Associate Inc. are dedicated to delivering exemplary service in quality home environments to the City of Corvallis.
Rental companies provide cheaper housing alternatives including apartments, townhomes and houses.
By ANGELA TAM News Contributor
When searching for housing, one important factor for students can be the cost, as income sources for college students may be limited.
Although Oregon State University’s University Housing and Dining Services offers discounted rates for second-year and continuing OSU students, a term can still range around $1,880 to $4,000 per term depending on what housing plan is chosen.
When properties are in high demand, the cost for properties generally increase. In Corvallis, the closer a certain property is to OSU’s campus, the higher the rent tends to be due to high demand.
According to Tammy Barnhouse, property manager at Northwest Realty Consultants, the most cost-effective property offered at their company is a one-bedroom apartment for $750.
Closer towards campus, the rents typically run between $1,100 to $1,200 per month for two-bedroom apartments.
Barnhouse said that Northwest Realty does market analysis regularly within the Corvallis housing market.
“[Northwest Realty Consultants] has an obligation and duty to our clients to make sure we are bringing them the highest and best use of their rental property and we do our best to make sure rents are covering their overhead costs such as mortgages, taxes, insurance and general maintenance,” Barnhouse said.
Barnhouse said tenants should weigh all possible options in regards to cost-effectiveness. For example, choosing to live with roommates or opting to live alone.
“Living with people whether you know them prior or not can be tricky for certain,” Barnhouse said. “We can help guide them through this process to find the most suited unit for them and their needs.”
However, even the lower rates are high compared to other property management companies that are available in Corvallis. Northwest Realty Consultants’ most cost-effective property is near comparable to the most cost-effective plan available at The Retreat at Corvallis, a furnished student apartment complex minutes away from campus.
The D1 and D2 four bedroom plan at The Retreat are $710 and $725 respectively, per resident.
Unlike some rentals in Corvallis, The Retreat includes plans that are furnished with all utilities included, with additional amenities such as a gym, study lounge and pool.
“Sometimes paying more for a place with all utilities included is less expensive than paying for a less expensive place with no utilities included,” Tracy Khang, leasing and marketing manager for The Retreat, said via email.
Duerksen and Associates, Inc. is another property management company in Corvallis. For a single bedroom and bath, rents can run as low as $425 while staying not too far from
campus at around NW 15th Street.
For two bedrooms near downtown Corvallis, the most cost-effective rent from Duersken runs around $925 per month.
Another option is Pinion Property’s Beaver Lodge, which is half a block away from Monroe Avenue. Costs are nearly comparable to Duerksen’s lowest rates, running at $492 per month for a lease until May of 2022. For a month-to-month option, Beaver Lodge runs at $525 per month.
A closer option for students who prefer to live near campus is at Parkwest Apartments. They offer one and two bedroom plans, ranging from $970 for a one bedroom to $1,365 for a two bedroom.
However, students can and typically do find roommates to split rent with. Josh Brenne, a third-year Biochemistry and Molecular Biology student said via email he lived with other roommates and paid around $500 in monthly rent and utilities.
“Splitting rent definitely helped me feel more financially secure and gave me a greater ability to pay for college and other necessities,” Brenne said.
Gary Rodgers, managing principal broker for Northwest Realty Consultants, said that typically, students will not find the most costeffective options through the owner directly.
“Generally, older and larger apartment complexes are most cost-effective, especially if [students] can find one owned by a family, not through a property management company,” Rodgers said. “That’s just being honest. If someone wants to find good deals, they might find them through a property owner directly, rather than go through a property management company.”
Rodger’s also explained property man-
agement companies tend to keep up their properties compared to other types of rental properties.
“That is not to say that they will usually take care of the properties as well as Property Management Companies,” Rodgers said. “Some I know take excellent care of their properties. Some are just the opposite, and some of those properties are often the cheapest option available.”
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Pinion Property Management owns and manages a variety of different properties in the Corvallis, Ore. area. Flyers outside of the front door show property prices from 2020.
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This house on 1806 SW Brooklane Dr. is one of the houses Duerksen & Associate Inc. rents out in the City of Corvallis, Ore. Duerksen & Associate Inc. are dedicated to delivering exemplary service in quality home environments to the City of Corvallis.
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STUDENT-ATHLETE HOUSING Continued from page 17
A: There is not really too much of a disadvantage other than that we are far off campus. Parking can be an issue with our situation as well because we still have to pay for parking on campus for facilities that we use almost daily. Sometimes I feel like we are not really a part of the school [because of how far away we are] and it feels like we are rather just athletes completing school online. It would be nice if we were a little closer to campus and could walk from our house to the gym to lift or to practice, but that just wasn’t the case this year when we needed to find a place to live.
Q: How do you and your roommates manage your groceries in the house? Does the school help out in any way?
A: So, as athletes we get free breakfast every day from the school after we have our lifting sessions and workouts in the morning, and then after that it is up to us to get the rest of our food. Except, we do get $50 a week to spend at certain restaurants, like Chipotle and Jimmy Johns. For our house, we will split the grocery bill on certain items that we all commonly share and that has been going well so far throughout this year, no roommate problems over food so far.
Q: When you are at practice with all your teammates, do you find that you are still the closest with your roommates, or do you have more people you have that connection with?
A: I feel close to everyone on the team really, but I see what you’re saying. Yes, I do think that I am still the closest friends with my roommates, they know the most about me and are accessible in that way, plus I spend the most time out of my day with them. But, in my outfielders positions there are tons of people who I play well together with. We have a type of connection out there in the outfield where we feel as if our thoughts are connected. Having Micah [McDowell] out there as a teammate and a roommate makes him the easiest to talk to out there on the field, and I would say we rarely make mistakes between the two of us.
Q: Playing with teammates can create a brotherhood type bond between players, is it correct to assume that this is a similar case within your house?
A: Yeah, I would say that’s accurate for sure. Living with people brings you closer no matter what and I have enjoyed myself this year living in the house. Since the fall, I can think of countless memories made with my three roommates that I am not going to forget. It has been a really big improvement from last year, when I lived outside of the dorm situation [in an offcampus house], by being more involved with the team, it has allowed me to connect and interact with more people … Thankfully I was able to get some good roommates like the ones I got, and luckily it has remained a good scenario for everyone involved by how it translates to the field.
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Goss Stadium in Corvallis, Ore. is the home of Oregon State Baseball. Kyle Dernedde, Micah McDowell and Jack Washburn, roommates and members of the baseball team, practice at Goss Stadium along with their teammates.
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An illustration that represents living with family during the pandemic. According to a September study from the Pew Research Center the share of young adults living with their parents has jumped to the most since the Great Depression—in February, 47% of young adults aged 18 to 29 lived with their parents and, in July, that climbed to 52%.
Castles: Students can find new normal living with family
By CHRISTINE CASTLES Columnist
Oregon State University students living on campus last school year were faced with difficult decisions about whether to stay in the dorms amidst a global pandemic, or move home with family and be far from friends.
In a rush to slow the spread of COVID-19, people around the country and world were advised to stay at home and to not socialize in large groups.
For many students though, this was not an option. Moving back in with family was the better alternative to living in a residence hall, surrounded by other students around the clock when, at the time, the information available about COVID-19 was limited.
The circumstances of the pandemic were not ideal, but I was eager to move out of the residence hall. So like many others, I packed up my belongings and turned in my key.
Living at home meant lower risk of getting sick and saved money when unemployment soared. On-campus residents rapidly moved out of the dorms and back into their parents’ houses, where they would be forced to find a new normal in online classes.
There was a sudden shift from what many first-year students experienced as the beginnings of independence back to relying on family. Amongst all the newness of this situation, the social consequences of leaving behind campus life became of secondary importance.
OSU second-year sociology student Jessica Findlay was in this very situation. Due to worries about her safety in a crowded dorm, she moved back in with her parents having only moved out the previous fall.
“Everything happened so fast, I wasn’t really prepared for the quickness of everything,” Findlay said. She had only just signed her lease in Corvallis, Ore. for the next fall when she was told she should go back to her home in Clackamas, Ore.
Findlay, and countless other students’ spring break was lost between navigating belongings out of Corvallis and checking out of the dorm.
“I spent most of my spring break worrying,” Findlay said.
To many students who were excited to leave their parents for their first year of college, this would have been especially frustrating, but Findlay finds it has not been so bad being with her parents. “I’m pretty close with my parents… it was nice to be able to talk to them in person and not over the phone,” Findlay said.
According to a September study from the Pew Research Center, the number of young adults living with their parents has increased the most throughout the pandemic since the Great Depression—in February, 47% of young adults ages 18 to 29 lived with their parents, and in July, that climbed to 52%.
For many students, being closer to family has also meant being farther from friends.
Second-year mechanical engineering stu-
