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WORDS BY Taylor Robinson ILLUSTRATIONS BY Sarah Riedlinger
Housing on-campus affects students’ mental health Kent State requires students to live in a residence hall for at least two years unless they can get an exemption. Some of those students say their experiences were irritating and unwelcoming, which affected their mental health.
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ITTING IN HER BED one night, sob- “As an institution, we strongly believe that bing, senior business management students benefit academically and socially major Lauren Gump promised herself by living on campus for two years,” says she was going to die before 2018 ended. Kevin Mowers, director of residence life, via an email. “This past fall, students who Gump recalls her mental health first deteri- lived on campus averaged a grade-point-avorating the fall semester of her sophomore erage of 2.98 while those living off averaged year as she was living with her best friend a 2.83. The persistence rate of housing is at in Olson Hall, one of Kent State’s 25 on-cam- 91.8 percent. This means that nine out of pus residence halls. The two of them were 10 students will return to campus after their close, but Gump says something just hap- first semester.” pened between the two friends. They started fighting all the time, and Gump eventually Irritating, difficult and lonely is how Mia stopped feeling like herself. Davis, freshman exploratory major whose name has been changed, describes her first Kent State requires all unmarried students experience living on campus last semester. enrolled in nine or more credit hours to live in the university residence halls, excluding Davis met her first roommate, a resident summer sessions, until the student has junior assistant (RA), on Facebook, a common academic standing. This is unless they have strategy freshmen use to look for a rooman exemption from the department of resi- mate. A few weeks into the semester, this dence services, according to the university roommate moved out and there was a twopolicy regarding student housing. to-three-week period where Davis was
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living alone in her room. Being new to campus and not having friends yet, Davis felt lonely. Eventually, a new RA was assigned to the room. Davis says she emailed her new roommate once or twice to see if she wanted to get coffee or talk and set their expectations for each other as roommates. Davis had a feeling things wouldn’t go well when her roommate didn’t respond to her efforts to reach out. Davis’ new roommate situation was difficult, from her roommate keeping the TV on at night, blasting music after going out and having friends over unannounced. She couldn’t even remember the major of the girl who slept in a bed next to her. These are all problems students encounter when they first move into dorms.
