The Daily Athenaeum’s
LIVING GUIDE January 21, 2015
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2 | living guide
INSIDE: Page 7 - Benefits that come with being an RA for WVU Page 8 - Area living guide Page 9 - Questions to ask your potential roommates before moving in Page 10 - #Throwback: As you look for a new place to live, relive move-in day Page 13 - Morgantown housing in need of leasing regulations
THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Thursday January 22, 2015
FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
Where you live matters: Take full advantage of this Living Guide, services mentioned inside jACOB bOJESSON ediTOR-IN-CHIEF @dailyathenaeum
The Daily Athenaeum’s Living Guide is an annual edition we release to give students information about what is important as we go about life in Morgantown. This year we decided to give it more narrow focus and single in on the living arrangements available and ask the students what they think is important and what they’ve learned from their own experiences. If you’re a freshman living in a dorm, next fall will be the first time you’re really on your own. You’ll be responsible for paying rent and bills on time and balancing a budget in a way may never have been forced to in the past. This takes the step of moving away from the comfort of your parent’s house and growing up to another level. For others, a new school year might mean a fresh start after a terrible living arrangement, while others just want to perfect an already good situation. Wherever you find yourself, it’s clear that how you live matters. Now in my senior year, I’d like to think I’ve mastered the game finding a place to live that suits both my demands and more importantly, my budget. But looking back at the years, the places I’ve lived and the people I’ve a shared a home with, there are things I would have done differently. My college neighbors have ranged from now deceased Hollywood actor Paul Walker my freshman year in California to a wide range of drug dealers, and my rent from $300- 1,000 per month. Morgantown might be a small town but where you decide to live, and more importantly who you decide to live with, will impact your health and joy in life. What I’ve come to find is that your
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roommates matter more than anything. We spend more time in our houses or apartments than we do on campus and it’s important to make our homes away from home just that, a home. College will be a much more enjoyable experience if you can find roommates who you’ll eventually consider family. As my college days are winding down, I think my roommates and our dog will be among the things I’ll miss the most about Morgantown. With that in mind, make sure you’re on the same page about your standards before you get yourself into anything. Another aspect you really need to be cautious about is who is on the other side of the lease you sign. Landlords can be tricky to deal with and fighting them over issues is a battle you will most likely lose even though you might be in the right. I’ve personally admitted defeat once or twice because I’ve realized just how hard it is to defeat them. The University offers many services where you can get advice and have your leases looked over prior to signing anything. If anything, at least have your parent or someone with a little more life experience look over the lease and give you a scouting report on the landlord you’re considering. So while you’re reading this special section, listen to what the many students quoted have to say. We all have different stories and experiences and you might pick up on something you never thought of before. We can always minimize costs and do things differently even if we are content with our current situation. So the next time you sing about country roads taking you home, make sure you refer to one you actually enjoy.
carl.bojesson@mail.wvu.edu
THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Thursday January 22, 2015
LIVING GUIDE | 3
WE ASKED YOU:
“Really read the fine print. A lot of my friends are getting screwed over with 12 month leases.” — Megan Harding
What do you look for when searching for a place to live? Some looked at price, location, distance for classes, etc.. Be up front with landlords about what you’re searching for. “I’m trying to be an RA. It looks really fun and I like the residence halls. I like the people working there and I like the dynamic they have at Summit.” — Elijah Spade
Freshman engineering student
Freshman marketing student
“Travel to where it is and make sure you know the transportation schedule before you live there. You can get screwed over with buses because sometimes they don’t come. I live in South Park because it was downtown and way less expensive than dorms and I knew I could still walk.” — Taylor Braxton
Sophomore wood science student
“I tend to look at reviews online. They help a lot. I had issues getting my deposit back so watch out for that.” — Harshal Patel
Senior petroleum engineering & geology student
“(I look for) size, price, location, whether or not there’s free parking, and if it’s furnished or not. I plan on signing a lease this week.” — Tyreik McCawley
Freshman chemical engineering student
“I would say live downtown because it’s more convenient. You don’t have to drive to class and find somewhere to park.” — Emily Radabaugh
Make the healthy choice the easy choice. Find out how:
Senior elementary education student
well.wvu.edu/wellness
®
THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
4 | LIVING GUIDE
Thursday January 22, 2015
Students reflect on different areas of Morgantown by rachel mcbride staff writer @dailyathenaeum
Searching for a place to live in Morgantown can be a confusing and stressful process. There are many factors to contemplate when deciding where to live, such as where you work, where your classes are, if you have to commute to class, how close you want to be to convenience and how much money you are willing to spend on rent. Some students who desire to be near night life will choose to live downtown around High Street, while others will choose to live away from the campus to enjoy the town’s quietness and calm atmosphere. All of these variables depend on your per-
sonality and your needs as a student. Junior Brandon Horn said he chose to live close to the Evansdale campus and the Mountaineer stadium because of its proximity to his classes and the football games. “I am an engineering student, so being away from the downtown area allows me to avoid the traffic associated with it when I drive to class. Also, I’m always within good walking distance of a tailgate and the stadium for all Mountaineer home games,� Horn said. Sophomore Sarah Hott explained why she chose to live away from both the downtown and Evansdale campuses in Star City. “Star City is slightly more of a commute to class than other areas. I wouldn’t
move to be closer because I feel safe and I’m part of a community, which is important since I live here year-round,� Hott said. Other students, like senior Trevor Eckerson, choose to live close to the downtown campus. “It’s a nice neighborhood and a 10-15 minute walk to my downtown classes. I live there out of convenience and I enjoy the location,� he said. Although house-hunting sites on the internet have made finding living arrangements much simpler, one can easily become overwhelmed by the process. Things that can make this process much easier and less stressful are figuring out your monetary budget for rent, getting first-hand stories from your friends about the pros
and cons of where they live and making sure you visit the area before committing to a lease. “It’s (finding a place to live) always stressful. (I used) the internet, along with just riding around looking for places that are for rent. Usually landlords are eager to lease the place, so they will sometimes meet you right then and you can tour to decide if that’s where you want to live,� said junior Seth Moomaw. Sophomore Jacqueline Braham also described the process she went through before making a final decision on where to live. “I mainly just looked at the places I had heard good reviews about from friends. I scheduled appointments with the apartments I wanted to see and asked
all those necessary questions at those times. Then, I made my decision based on price at which apartment I thought seemed best,� Braham said. When looking for a place to live in Morgantown, consider all factors involved. It is important to do your research on the
places you are interested in. Use social networks to gain personal experiences from friends as well as to see what places are available for rent, and don’t be afraid to ask questions when searching for your future residency. danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Let us know which area of Morgantown is your favorite with a tweet!
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Thursday January 22, 2015
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6 | LIVING GUIDE
Thursday January 22, 2015
WVU provides legal help available for students to look over leases before signing staff writer @dailyathenaeum
Students are only halfway through this academic year, but they are already scrambling to figure out next year’s living arrangements—that is, until they run into one foreign word: lease. For young adults who have never taken this step into the world of housing agreements, specifically first year students who are enjoying the comfort of residence hall life, signing a lease can be intimidating. Carrie Showalter, managing attorney for students, and the rest of West Virginia University’s Student Legal Ser-
vices are here to help. “Sometimes people are so anxious to get a lease signed that they don’t think it through,” Showalter said. “Students sign a lease and they aren’t aware.” A lease is a legally binding contract between the landlord and the tenant that keeps both parties accountable for their obligations for the entire term of the lease. This kind of agreement can go smoothly or not. “We see students who aren’t aware that they can’t have a pet and they don’t realize it’s a no pet lease and there are some hefty penalties with that. Or they sign a lease and don’t realize there’s no lease. They don’t ask questions,” Showalter
said. Some apartments, usually owned by the University, rent by the bedroom, in which case each individual in the apartment is responsible for his or her own rent. In comparison, a joint lease means that all tenants are responsible for the whole rent. If one person does not pay his or her share of the rent, the landlord can collect that money from another tenant in the lease. “Get a copy of their lease. We do free lease reviews through our office,” Showalter said. “Some are one page long and some are upwards of 30 pages. We can explain some of the language because it’s dense. We can break it down for them.”
Student Legal Services also takes care of issues with security deposits, such as when landlords do not pay their tenants back their security deposits on time. “We track down a lot of security deposits, documentation and hold landlords responsible. A lot of times, students don’t know how long it takes or what the requirements are,” Showalter said. As for breaking or changing a lease, students won’t have much luck unless they have an extreme situation, according to Showalter, especially because at off-campus places, status as a student means nothing. “Landlord/tenant laws in our state are not very tenant
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favorable. If your lease starts in May and ends in May, it’s a full year lease. It’s not easy getting out,” she said. In addition to reading the lease in its entirety, students must ask questions and seriously consider what they want in their lease before signing. Does this lease allow pets? What kinds of utilities will be provided? Do you need your parents to read the lease before signing? “There’s no rush. There’s everything from brand new townhouses and highrise apartments to the old houses in South Park,” Showalter said. “Once they have an idea of what their budget is and where they want to be, they should
come in and get educated.” Showalter recommends freshmen take their time before going into a lease and to make the most of the University’s available resources. “Wait till after first semester so they make sure they get their grades, that they know they’re going to be back, they know their roommate is returning as well,” she said. “First year students need to be aware of what it is they’re doing.” The office for Student Legal Services is located in room G5 of E. Moore Hall, and students should go online to www.studentlife. wvu.edu/offcampushousing for more information. danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu
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Thursday January 22, 2015
THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
LIVING GUIDE | 7
RA positions provide leadership opportunities by alexis randolph Opinion Editor @dailyathenaeum
While there are many leadership positions students in college can take on, few are as actively involved in the lives of new students as Resident Assistants. With 14 residence halls on the West Virginia University campus, which require approximately 230 RA positions, there is definitely a demand for RAs and the services they provide. An RA is a first year student’s guide into all things WVU. As full-time students at the university themselves, RAs know where you are now and are there to help you figure out where you are going. RAs are not parents, they are peers who can lead a
student down the right path and be an ear when the student needs someone to talk to. To apply to be an RA, students must log on to the WVU housing website. Once on the website, the student can click on the employment link, and then the Resident Hall Assistant. Students can find the application at the bottom of the page. Applications to become an RA for the 2015-2016 academic year must be submitted by Jan. 23 at 5 p.m. To become an RA, students must be a full time student enrolled at WVU, they must be in good academic standing (2.5 cumulative GPA or higher), as well as good disciplinary standing within the residence halls. Students must also have second year status having
29 or more completed credit hours. One of the benefits of being an RA is the student’s room and board are paid for the duration of their employment. This includes a meal plan for the student. There are both undergraduate and graduate level RAs, although the criteria for being a graduate RA is somewhat different and can be found on the housing website. Deonna Gandy is a junior and former RA in Honors Hall. Gandy said the process of becoming an RA is long, but rewarding. “A lot of work goes into the interviewing process, you have to go to different sessions and meet all of the Residence Hall coordinators,” Gandy said. “In the end it was all very enlightening, I learned more than
Adopting a pet while still in college by courtney gatto staff writer @dailyathenaeum
On top of school work, social lives and chores around the house, many college students are faced with deciding whether or not they should add one more responsibility to their daily lives by owning a pet. The types of pets college students own range from everything between fish to dogs. The Animal House, a local pet store, often sells rabbits, sugar gliders, chinchillas and many other pets to college students. The Animal House believes in selling animals to students because it not only teaches students responsibility, but it gives them something that is completely “theirs.” Roshan Daniel, a junior mechanical and aerospace engineering student, adopted his cat, Frodo, ear-
lier in his college career and says as a whole, his experience with a pet has been a positive one. “I decided I wanted a cat last summer and I spent two months saving up money and making sure I was prepared for a pet,” Daniel said. “I even read a book in preparation for getting a cat and after all that I realized I really wasn’t prepared at all.” Daniel’s situation isn’t a rare one. As the Animal House teaches their customers, pets are a lot of work. Being a pet owner is more than just providing a house and food. They \require a lot of interaction. “I’ve definitely lost some sleep and spent a lot more money for my cat but at the end of the day it’s great to have a constant companion when you get home from classes,” Daniel said. “My general advice to any-
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one thinking about getting an animal in college is to just do it. It may be hard sometimes but you will definitely learn a lot about yourself in the process.” danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu
I guess I thought I would.” Gandy said being an RA is great because she gets to meet new people and learn more about others and herself. Chris McBride is the graduate RA in Honors Hall and has been working as an RA for several years. McBride said it gets easier each year. “The skills you acquire definitely help you later on. It is very rewarding to see first year students come onto your floor with the high school mentality and leave with a college mentality by the end of their freshman year,” McBride said. McBride said he thinks separating yourself from the job is one of the most important things because you live in your job environment. McBride had some advice for those thinking about be-
coming an RA. “If you are in it for the money, you are going to hate it,” he said. “Your heart has to really be in it if this is something you plan on doing.” In an interview with The Daily Athenaeum in 2014. Karen Sommers, a graduate RA in Lincoln Hall, said she had the pleasure of working with about 500 residents during her time as a RA. “This is one of the most rewarding jobs I have ever had. There are definitely more pros than cons to being an RA,” Sommers said. “It is really great to see your residents grow through their freshman year and become sophomore, and then even to see them go on to graduation.” Sommers’ advice for those thinking about ap-
plying is not to be afraid to explore new halls a student might not be familiar with, because that is how the student will find the right fit. Sommers also said being an RA puts the student in the public eye and the student needs to really understand the position before applying. Students can also apply to be a Wellness Coordinator within the halls. The Wellness Coordinator works with the WELLWVU office and their programs to provide information about a healthy lifestyle to the residents of the halls. To learn more about becoming an RA visit http:// housing.wvu.edu/employment/undergraduate-residence-hall-assistant. danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu
THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
8 | LIVING GUIDE
Thursday January 22, 2015
The pros and cons of AREA GUIDE:different Morgantown areas EVANSDALE AREA Living on Evansdale is ideal for anyone who has classes on engineering, the College of Law, or Health Sciences Campus. The location is great for tailgating, putting you steps away from Milan Puskar Stadium on gameday. Many students who choose to live on Evansdale enjoy the peace and quiet that comes with the campus. However, for students who don’t have a car, getting downtown can be frustrating when using the PRT or buses.
SUNNYSIDE AREA Getting to say you’ve experienced residing in Sunnyside is already a perk of living there. The location is between the downtown and Evansdale campuses which is perfect for students who have classes on both. If you’re living in Sunnyside, chances are you frequent Mutts, The Greeks Restaurant and Café, and the other cool local businesses Beechurst offers. There’s also lots of street parking. The major con? University Place construction has caused massive controversy and arguably taken some charm out of the historical area.
OFF-CAMPUS COMPLEXES Signing a lease with a large apartment complex off campus is something many WVU students are drawn to. These complexes are generally well-kept and many offer amenities including workout facilities, pools and free tanning. There is also convenient parking for residents. The shortcoming of these complexes is their distance from campus, causing many students to struggle with bus schedules.
SOUTH PARK AREA Located across the Walnut Street Bridge, South Park is situated less than a mile from downtown. Many students choose to live in South Park for the laidback lifestyle it brings. The neighborhood is a mixture of students, professors and families. One of the drawbacks of living in South Park is that parts of the neighborhood tend to be sketchy at night, especially the sections close to the rail trail.
DOWNTOWN AREA Living downtown offers many conveniences and a lot of fun. Not only are you within walking distance of your classes, but you also live right by Morgantown’s nightlife. High Street offers tons of local food and bar options, and the best part is that it’s relatively flat. Living downtown is ideal for many students who like to work hard and play hard but it can be distracting, noisy and the parking situation is heinous.
THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Thursday January 22, 2015
Investing time in finding a roommate now means rewards by courtney gatto staff writer @dailyathenaeum
Don’t make finding a compatible roommate the hardest test of your college career. Before signing a lease, many students have found it important to do some research on the people they will be sharing their space with for the next year. Loud, quiet, outgoing, shy, studious, wild - all are traits that are carried by different types of roommates that, if they aren’t real-
ized soon enough, have the power to make or break a roommate relationship. Many students find the relationship between roommates to require as much attention and effort as a romantic relationship. Kait Hudok, a junior finance and economics student, said it is not only important to take the time to choose a roommate, but the same amount of work should also go into maintaining that relationship. “Roommates are, quite honestly, the most serious and long-term relationship
most college students enter into,” Hudok said. “Consider hobbies, habits and their general temperament, and don’t be afraid once you’re in this significant relationship to raise concerns before anything escalates.” Others, however, don’t see the need for roommates to be best friends. Grant Jones, a sophomore marketing student, said the most important thing is the ability to compromise with each other. “It’s mostly important to find someone that will meet you in the middle when you
don’t agree on certain things or the way things should be done in the house,” Jones said. “Obviously you won’t agree with your roommate on everything, but you want someone who can see multiple views on things so you aren’t always arguing.” In the end, everyone has different expectations for roommate relationships. Realizing these expectations before choosing a roommate could save a lot of stress and even optimize the relationship. danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu
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LIVING GUIDE | 9
QUESTIONS FOR POTENTIAL ROOMIES Are you a morning or night person? How messy are you? (Aka, are your floors at least visible?) Thoughts on pets? Is it cool if I sit around in my underwear?
Exceptional Service, Exceptional Locations, Exceptional Style Perilli Apartments, in Morgantown, West Virginia, is a 40-year-old family owned residential home provider that specializes in excellent accommodations and high quality furnishings for students and professionals. From apartments to townhomes, to houses, Perilli Apartments has it all and wants nothing more than to help you find a new place to live that you’re happy to call your home.
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Furnished Apartments & Homes Efficiency, 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 Bedrooms 8 Minute Walk to Campus Off street parking, intercom system, washer/dryer, dishwasher, central A/C, ceiling fans
Scandinavian Kitchens 1, 2, and 3 Bedrooms Just Minutes to Campus, entry security system, laundry facility, A/C, ceiling fans, close to restaurants, shopping, & night life.
Close to Hospitals, Health Sciences, Mylan, Niosh, and PRT 1, 2, and 3 Bedrooms, Covered garages, play area for children, washers and dryers, microwaves, dishwashers, central A/C, ceiling fans, and several units with fireplaces.
With a variety of apartments and homes available, Perilli Apartments is sure to have exactly what you’re looking for. Whether that’s peace and quiet for you and your family, or a taste of downtown living for you and your college roommate. We have continually passed inspections from the City Code Enforcement and the Fire Department, and are grandfathered in by the City to accommodate your needs for anything from one bedroom up to five bedroom units. *No Pets allowed in any Perilli rentals.
304-296-7476 • info@perilliapartments.com • www.perilliapartments.com
10 | LIVING GUIDE
THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
#THROWBACK:
Thursday January 22, 2015
Let’s take a minute to remember 2015 freshmen move-in day.
ALL PHOTOS: KYLE MONROE/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Thursday January 22, 2015
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12 | LIVING GUIDE
Thursday January 22, 2015
Asking important questions before signing a lease by lauren caccamo correspondent @dailyathenaeum
The spring semester has officially started and so has the time for planning next year’s living situation and residence. For those of you who’ve gotten off to a late start in your search, panic might be settling in as options start to dwindle. The need to sign a lease seems immediate, and the intensity of the situation might cause one to overlook the details that could potentially make your next year a virtual nightmare. To help avoid this conundrum, students across the West Virginia University campus offer their advice as lease-holding veterans so that others can learn from their experiences.
According to students, a majority of issues they have had in the past with signing leases have arisen from utility function and maintenance. While some landlords will include utility fees in the monthly rent price, many student households must look to local companies for gas, electric, water and cable. Before signing a lease, ask the landlord what your typical monthly utility costs will look like. “Ask about usual costs for utilities. For our house, the insulation in our house is not so great, so if we had known about it from the landlords that the house had poor insulation and it was probably going to cost us extra to heat in the winter, who knows, maybe we might have considered other options,” said senior
student Anthony Dellaria. Knowing details such as if your heat is powered by gas or electricity, if your stovetop is gas or electric, and whether or not you have an air-conditioning unit ahead of time, could also save you a lot of grief when dealing with the unpredictable Morgantown weather. It could also spare your wallet. “I think the biggest thing is to make sure you don’t have baseboard heating,” said senior Andrew Selbe. “It’s like electric heat, but your bills will be literally thousands of dollars every month.” You might think of dishwashers and laundry machines as necessities rather than amenities, but some students were surprised to learn their house did not carry one or all of
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those appliances. “You know, I’m highly capable of doing my own dishes, but, I mean, dishwashers are just so much more convenient,” Dellaria said. Senior Alexandria Svolos said she recalls living in a Sunnyside apartment her sophomore year that had a strange laundry facility. “Before signing my lease, I wish I would have asked about our laundry facilities. I was aware that our laundry room was in a locked basement attached to our house, but I didn’t know that it was going to cost us any money, have virtually no lighting or that I would be sharing it with three complete strangers,” Svolos said. Something students with cars in Morgantown might want to address is whether a property comes with parking. “Ask your landlord if it comes with a parking spot that you can keep close to your house,” said senior Will Clogan. If certain questions don’t come to mind while touring a house or discussing a lease with a potential landlord, the current leasers of the household or apartment in question might be able to give you the information you didn’t even know you were look-
ing for, like the condition of the house and how respectful a landlord is of the signed lease. “Whenever you’re looking at a house, make sure to chat up the former lessees. That way, you can find out the real pros and cons of living at that house,” said junior Rory Adams. Current leasers may be able to shed light on what your relationship with that landlord will look like. Do they come in unannounced? Do they fix broken appliances in a timely manner? Are they easy to get in touch with? Senior Tatiana Fountain said she thinks probably the most important thing to ask a potential landlord is how the leases will apply to you as an individual. “It’s important to know whether or not you have individual leases. That way, if someone can’t pay rent that month it doesn’t become your responsibility to make up for it,” Fountain said. Finally, before signing a lease, be sure to look over the terms and conditions carefully. Question the landlord about what your relationship will be like. Accidents will happen and things will need fixing, so lay out the guidelines for what the landlord considers “incidental” and “not
incidental,” what you will have to pay for and what will you not have to pay for if something is broken. If anything happens to the house, will it come out of your security deposit? How will they address maintenance issues? Conditions surrounding sub-letting your house or apartment are also important to understand for students who plan on traveling abroad or transferring later in the year. Senior Tanya Wasyluk said she has subleased apartments a lot in the past and that sometimes the rules are blurry. “I sub-letted this apartment in Boston over the summer and we never really talked about how the money would transfer between me, the guy subletting the apartment to me, and the landlord. I had to put in money to secure my own security deposit, but the landlord didn’t give that money back to me at the end, he gave it to the guy sub-letting to me,” Wasyluk said. “I got the money back, but that was lucky because the guy didn’t have to return that to me. So, my advice is that if you’re looking to sub-let, discuss that stuff immediately.” danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu
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Thursday January 22, 2015
THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
LIVING GUIDE | 13
EDITORIAL
Housing wars: Morgantown in desperate need of leasing regulations Finding an apartment in a college town could very well double as an Olympic sport. The competition is fierce and the stakes are high. Location, price, parking, utilities and many other aspects go into finding the perfect place to live. So you begin your search and find, no matter how early you start, you are already behind the crowd. “We are showing that one tomorrow,” and, “Sorry, it’s been leased,” become two of the most dreaded phrases to hear on the other end of the phone. But, then you find your perfect apartment and say a little prayer to some deity so that you never have to go through this process again. With so much stress caused, there has to be another way we as students can find housing without having to start looking in October and keeping our search hidden from the competition (i.e., anyone who isn’t going to be your roommate.) The Daily Athenaeum would like to see some kind of legal regulations for when property owners and students can begin looking for and leasing apartments for the upcoming summer and school year. If there were regulations in place by the City which said these places weren’t allowed to start showing and leasing properties until the spring semester, then students would have a better shot at making a well informed decision. Many times, property
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telegraph.co.uk
owners will pressure you into signing a lease before you have had a real chance to look over it or take it to Student Legal Services (located conveniently on the Downtown Campus, call 304-293-4897 to make an appointment.) These owners may tell you the property will go fast, someone else wants to sign or that the rates may even go up. While this may be true, they are mostly just pressuring you into signing before you can find something better suited for you. If Morgantown were to regulate when this could start, then students would have the time to look at and find the best options through a little research. Properties would even have time to, say, hold an open house, so all interested parties could come view the apartment at once and be able to see it in its best shape. Another option could be the University stepping in and working with
these property owners to come to a similar agreement. Like the off-campus housing fair, which takes place in January, this agreement could facilitate a better search process for students. For cooperating with WVU, these owners could be labeled “WVU approved,” giving them more credibility. At the least, the off-campus housing search engine the University provides should offer better options for searching. This service could also be tailored to help this new process between property owners and students. Apartment hunting shouldn’t have to be an allout cutthroat war among students. It should be enjoyable and a bright spot in planning one’s next step as a WVU student. Removing the stress and pressure will help not only students, but in the end, property owners as well. daperspectives@mail.wvu.edu
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14 | LIVING GUIDE
THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Thursday January 22, 2015
University housing services beneficial to students
nsbe.studentorgs.wvu.edu
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by jacob bojesson editor-in-chief @dailyathenaeum
While most students only have the University as their landlords during their freshman year of college, West Virginia University has expanded its role beyond the dorms and now offers a wide range of options around campus. The traditional way of living for WVU students is to move to private apartments or houses for the majority of their time at WVU. While that is still the case, the University has opened four apartment complexes with another one coming in the fall. The option of having WVU as your landlord has both pros and cons, but one clear upside of it is you deal with a landlord you’re already in business with. “West Virginia University’s Apartment’s mission is to create and maintain a living, as well as learning, environment which is supportive of and responsive
to our customers in pursuit of their educational goals,” the WVU housing website reads. “Our primary thrust is to provide well maintained, secure, affordable housing rendered by a dedicated staff and to offer a one stop service which enhances the individual’s student experience, personal growth and sense of belonging to the wider University Community.” What make the University’s housing options different is the way they are targeting specific student demographics. The Medical Center Apartments provided the benefit of its location for students on the Health and Sciences campus before it closed last summer, while the Noah Street House accommodates families. The more recent constructions include University Park, which will open in the fall, College Park and University Place. The trend of the university buying private property and turning it into housing represents
a shift in the culture of Morgantown. When Sunnyside was torn down two years ago to make room for University Place, many students reacted, but the University believed the construction was a progressive move for the University that had its perks. “It’s about making this block accessible to 1,000 students rather than 100,” David Martinelli, owner of Paradigm Development Group said during the construction. “Now 950 students can live a block away from campus and enjoy Sunnyside. Sunnyside is a fun place; we want to keep the fun, put some quality to it and expose it to more people.” U Place found itself further in the spotlight when it wasn’t ready for the scheduled move in, but the University believes the service and dedication they provide benefits both students and the community. “The building is beautiful. We encountered a
lot of inconveniences because the building wasn’t finished when they were scheduled to move in,” said Dean of students Corey Farris after the completion of University Place. “From here on out, we want to make the transition for students moving in easier. We will also be providing a move-in company to help students move their belongings into the building. It’s our way of making it up to the leasers.” WVU can also serve you even if you don’t decide to live on its turf. The Student Legal Services was established in 1973 to help students with legal advice. This includes educating students about their legal rights and responsibilities and provide services in regards to leases and contracts. SLS only provides advice in legal matters but is a useful tool for students who want their lease looked at prior to signing it. carl.bojesson@mail.wvu.edu
Thursday January 22, 2015
THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
NOTES: ________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________
LIVING GUIDE | 15
Bring this Living Guide around with you as you search for a place to live. Take notes about locations here. Remember to review all your options and speak with your parents before making a decision about signing a lease.
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