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NEWS: Exploring student housing options in Fort Collins
RENTING RAMS
Exploring student housing options in Fort Collins
By Katherine Borsting
@katbor2025
It’s the time of year when the question, “Where are you living next year?” starts to arise. According to SOURCE, Colorado State University has seen a 7% enrollment increase over the past year. This means housing for students within Fort Collins is more desirable, and leases are likely to fill faster.
The most obvious options when choosing housing as a CSU student include oncampus housing, off-campus apartments and houses in the neighborhoods.
The majority of on-campus housing is in the residence halls, and first-year students have to live in them — with a few exceptions, like living at home instead. When living in the dorms, students also have to choose one of the three meal plan options offered by CSU.
The on-campus option is comparatively one of the more expensive ones, totaling more than $6,000 per semester with the room and meal plan combined. The majority of students who live in the dorms also have to share a room and bathroom, usually with someone or multiple people they barely know.
Even CSU had a housing crisis this year with students living in the dorms, as some of them were placed to live at the Best Western University Inn off campus on College Avenue.
Quincy Mort, a first-year at CSU who currently lives in Ingersoll Hall, explained how she is already feeling pressure and is worried about finding housing for next year, as this is her first interaction with any kind of lease.
“Living in the dorms is nice now, but people are already talking about where they are living next year, and it seems like we just arrived,” Mort said. “Housing options for next year seem expensive, and I worry about finding roommates who I know well enough at this point to sign a lease with,” Mort said. “I don’t know how to get the help I need, and my parents are so far away.” When considering renting a house, the city has a U+2 law in place. According to the
City of Fort Collins website, this is to avoid “over occupancy complaints.” If renters fail to comply with this law, they could face a large fine or even eviction. However, the average rent in
Fort Collins is $1,840 dollars, which can be expensive to split between only three college students. Due to this cost, some house renters may feel the need to add someone to their lease. However, due to the U+2 rule within the city, renters can only do so in secret, putting them at risk for legal or housing trouble.
Many students choose to live in an apartment, as many of the complexes are located closer to campus, and larger apartment facilities advertise their spaces, making them seem more available.
Addison Spiekerman is a junior at CSU and lives in The Standard apartments located right across from campus on West Lake Street. Spiekerman discussed the pressure of already re-signing a lease in her current living situation, as she has been notified that the place she currently lives is already filling up.
“Right now, the apartments I live in are already notifying me and my roommates to resign, as the apartment is filling up,” Spiekerman said. “We are constantly getting emails saying that the occupancy for next year is limited and we should renew our lease if we want a spot.”
Spiekerman went on to explain how the year prior, she did not sign her lease until the spring, and this year, she’s worried if she doesn’t resign or sign a new place soon, she might be out of luck with how fast her apartment is filling up.
Spiekerman shares her apartment with three roommates.
Spiekerman said she determined living in an apartment was the best option, as the appeal of having everything included was what sold her, and a house just seemed like too much work.
Spiekerman also touched on how the worry of not finding a place to live was present early on when she looked last year, so she decided to sign early.
As the Fort Collins and CSU populations grow, it is likely housing options for students will be harder to find. As the fall semester comes to a close, student leases may also be harder to find, and with the desirability of certain housing options, rent costs could very well rise within Fort Collins.
Reach Katherine Borsting at news@ collegian.com.
QUINCY MORT CSU STUDENT
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY DYLAN TUSINSKI
THE COLLEGIAN
CULTURE
NACC keynote speaker showcases Indigenous representation
RASA HUMEYUMPTEWA
NACC STUDENT SUCCESS COORDINATOR
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY BRIAN PEÑA
THE COLLEGIAN
By Katherine Borsting
@katbor2025
As the month of November continues on and the weather begins to chill, it is important to remember this month also marks Native American Heritage Month. Colorado State University’s Native American Cultural Center is holding events all month to highlight the importance of Native American culture.
Nov. 10, the NACC hosted keynote speaker D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, an actor in the show “Reservation Dogs.” During his discussion at CSU, he highlighted the importance of Native American culture within television along with how it is to work on a mostly Indigenous-run set.
The event began with a viewing of the first episode of season two of “Reservation Dogs,” which can be streamed on Hulu. The show highlights four Indigenous teens in rural Oklahoma living among their Indigenous families and experiencing struggles and learning about their culture.
After the episode ended, WoonA-Tai, who plays Bear Smallhill on the show, came out and went more in depth on his experience and how “Reservation Dogs” represents Indigenous people.
“People forget we had representation before in the media, except it was negative and stereotypical,” Woon-A-Tai said.
He said this in regard to how Native American culture has been portrayed in the past. He went on to explain the important thing about “Reservation Dogs” is that it has Indigenous people in all departments running the show, along with most of the actors being Indigenous.
As Woon-A-Tai went on, he also pointed out how the show has funny qualities that make it enjoyable to watch.
“The show discusses Indigenous issues that need to be noticed, but they do it in a humorous way,” Woon-A-Tai said.
He made it a point to mention if you’re going to make fun of anyone, make fun of yourself first, which is something the show does but not in a disrespectful way.
Rasa Humeyumptewa, student success coordinator for the NACC, explained why this type of representation in the media and events such as this are important to have.
“Having an accurate representation of Native peoples in the media is critical because it gives Native peoples a chance to truly show our expansive culture,” Humeyumptewa said. “It also allows us to move beyond the monolithic notions of who and what Native peoples are.”
She went on to explain the importance of Native American Heritage Month and how the recognition of Native hardships is necessary. She described how these issues are not just restricted to Native people within the United States but all over the world.
“The best way for non-Native folks to be more aware of the Indigenous community is to educate yourself,” Humeyumptewa said. “This means not only looking up the history of what land you are on.”
This is important especially at CSU, as it is a land-grant institution, meaning the land was taken from Natives in order to build the university. It also means events often begin with the reading of the Land Acknowledgment, which discusses how CSU is placed upon Arapaho, Cheyenne and Ute tribe lands.
This keynote speaker event highlighted the importance of supporting Indigenous creators and artists as well as explained how to be conscious of Native cultures — not only at CSU but everywhere.
Reach Katherine Borsting at life@ collegian.com.
