Student Housing at Bridgewater College can be quite crowded at times. The coordinators have a big job on hand to make sure all students needs are met, as well as the College’s itself. Due to the amount of space determined by the College, this upcoming 2019-2020 year, Seniors will not be released to live off campus.
Reiss Confirms Rumors
Ricky Reiss deals with all different types of tasks as the Assistant Director of Residence Life. Reiss helps with students whom have roommate conflicts and want to request a change of rooms. She also handles certain types of violations in the residence halls, for example; a roommates boyfriend/girlfriend staying the night more than allowed according to the policy.
On the afternoon of February 12, an email was received by the Director of Residential and Community Life, Suzanne Mullins. The email contained information on whether or not seniors would be allowed to live off of campus the upcoming 2019-2020 school year. After careful consideration the school decided that during the upcoming year, they would have enough space to house everyone on campus. No students will be released to live off campus for the upcoming school year.
Violations on Campus
Bridgewater College has a strict policy about drinking on campus. Although in recent years, the college has become more lenient with allowing alcohol on campus for certain occasions. For the Homecoming football game there is now a designated area for tailgaters 21 and over to consume alcohol. Also, before graduation the seniors attend a ball that is held by the college that provides champagne for students. Between 2015-2017, the alcohol violations have decreased from 167 to 93. The cause of this could be due to the alcohol policy becoming more open to alcohol on campus.
Due to Bridgewater being a dry campus, there are violations that are given out. Students can receive violations for many things, but alcohol and drugs are at the top of the list. If the College was a wet campus maybe there would not be as many violations as there are for alcohol. When speaking with Reiss about violations on campus, she said “I believe Bridgewater College will be a wet campus before it allows students to live off of campus.” This came up due to the amount of violations that students receive for alcohol on campus. Students believe that if they were allowed to live off campus they would not mind the dry campus. Violations are another task that the campus housing staff deals with throughout the school year. Reiss says “I don’t think there will be less violations but maybe less violations for alcohol” if the college were to allow students to live off campus after their freshman year.
After Suzanne Mullins put out the email about seniors not being released this upcoming school year, Reiss said most of the complaints or questions were “why?” and once explained the process of how the college makes this decision, most understood the why.
| Residential Fees | Per Semester | Per Year |
| Students living in Geisert, Wakeman, Daleville or Dillon are charged the standard residential fee | $6,360 | $12,720 |
| *Residential Student – Total Estimated Cost | $23,940 | $47,880 |
| *Assumes the Standard Residential Fee | ||
| Residential Fee for Other Residence Halls | ||
| Cottages, Crimson Inn, Wright, Heritage, Blue Ridge or Strickler Apartments | $6,630 | $13,260 |
| Wampler Towers | $6,910 | $13,820 |
| Stone Village DoubleStone Village Triple | $7,120$6,910 | $14,240$13,820 |
| Built Single Room (limited availability, the following additional fee applies) | $1,000 | $2,000 |
The chart shown above sets out the average cost of living for students at Bridgewater College.
Interview with student Gabriella Kirk
Junior Gabriella Kirk at Bridgewater College feels strongly about the decision made by the college to not allow students to live off campus during their senior year. She says, “I feel that as a rising senior, the email recently sent out about my housing options for next year are a scam for the school to get more money out of me.”
Students and teachers may have come to believe that living on a campus such as Bridgewater’s campus, will not help prepare students for the real world. While some may believe that the activities that students want to partake in are not needed. Kirk said, “You definitely get more for your money living in an apartment off campus rather than a dorm room filled with two to three people, that has mold issues right after being renovated.”
Many students seem to have an issue with living on campus due to the lack of activities and transportation around the area. Those who get to live off of campus have to reach requirements to do so. If living off of campus you have to be a transfer student with 14 credits that transferred, you have to be of the age of 23 or older, in some cases you have to be married. Other situations can have to deal with health or disabilities which the college will allow students to live off-campus due to certain circumstances. If the college does release students to live off campus, they have to be seniors with a certain amount of credits.
This year Ricky Reiss says that GPA is going to play a role in campus housing as well as credits. Wampler Towers and Stone Village are privileges for students at Bridgewater to get a sense of a little more freedom. The upcoming 2019-2020 year is going to consist of GPA and credit requirements to live in the towers or the village.
“I also think that it is ridiculous having a four person filled room in the Village that is classified as an apartment, because that is far from the case,” said Kirk. Reiss put rumors to rest about four beds being placed in the Stone Village complexes. Reiss said, “I have had people request for us to put four beds in a room in the Stone Village and we have, but no we are not doing that permanently.”
Below there is a link that goes through the various campus housing options at Bridgewater College. The video only shows a few of the dorm styles Bridgewater has to offer.
https://www.bridgewater.edu/life-at-bridgewater/housing-dining/on-campus-housing/
Interview with Off-Campus Student Jacob Heiston
Senior Jacob Heiston has lived off of campus since he transferred in his sophomore year of college. Due to Heiston transferring in, he was able to live off campus with the amount of credits he had. Heiston said, “I like living off campus but wouldn’t mind living on campus since I play a sport and stuff…all of my friends live on campus so I think I would get to hang out with them more if I did.”
When comparing off campus housing to campus housing the prices hit at just about the same amount. Most students just want the freedom of being able to have their own space. Heiston said, “Off-campus housing has definitely cost more in just the aspects of utilities and things like groceries and toiletries, but I would say it is worth it for some reasons, I have never lived in a dorm though so I don’t know.”
Due to the fact that students are not being released to live off of campus, Bridgewater expects to have enough room for students. The decision is made between the President of the college, the vice President of enrollment, and other professionals; including the presidents council and some other vice presidents. Not every year students are released to live off of campus and that has to do with the math that goes into calculating the incoming enrollment of new students.
References
“Complete List of Fees (2018-19).” Bridgewater College, https://www.bridgewater.edu/admissions-aid/tuition-and-financial-aid/tuition-and-costs/college-fees/
“Annual Security Report and Fire Safety Report.” Bridgewater College, https://bridgewater.app.box.com/s/4ma6tlh30y8cat9un192ugo3dm6n29y9
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