Huntington News

Issue date: 3/20/08 Section: News

Despite recent media reports that people residing in the residential half of the YMCA live in deplorable conditions, the Northeastern administration has not received any complaints from the students who live in the building, said Bob Jose, associate dean and director of residential life.

"We have not had one complaint from the YMCA [this year] - not from parents, not from students," Jose said. "We haven't had any issues at all. It's really strange."

Oscar Roman, a sophomore business management major and transfer student, has lived in the YMCA since September and has a different view on the situation. There are unwanted visitors in the building all the time, he said: mice.

"The guys across the hall have traps and stuff, but there's no point," Roman said. "You might be able to trap one, but they just keep coming."

The building is old, but the workers keep the place relatively clean, said Roman, who has put in three work requests this year about the presence of rodents. Facilities workers do what they can in order to fix the problems, he said.

Roman said his view of Northeastern and his experience at college have not been negatively affected by his living conditions at the YMCA.

"I'm told this happens at a lot of colleges, but that's definitely one of the gripes we all have. Why did we get stuck at the 'Y?,'" Roman said. "I don't think the housing situation has been completely horrible. … It just sucks for me."

At least a quarter of students originally housed in the YMCA have moved out, either to off-campus housing or into another on-campus space that has become vacant, Jose said.

The area where Northeastern students live is not accessible to the rest of the residents of the YMCA. There are gates with alarms that sound if they are opened.

And like all other residence halls on campus, the YMCA has proctors and resident assistants.

Other students who live there said they feel at ease in their surroundings at the YMCA.

"I've never experienced any dangerous situations with tenants on the other side," Roman said. "We don't have a lot of contact with them. I've never felt unsafe."

Students living in the YMCA pay different rates than students in other residence halls. A standard double in a freshman residence hall is $3,020 per semester, and a standard YMCA double is $2,720 per semester.

A standard "double" at the YMCA, which resembles more of an economy double than a standard double, consists of a bunk bed, two desks and one closet.

"When I first came in I wanted to move out because it was so tight. We couldn't breathe in this room," Roman said. "If my roommate hadn't moved, I would've."

Common complaints that Residence Life has received in the past about the living conditions at the YMCA have concerned the separation of transfer students.

"Parents voiced complaints about why kids are not with other students in their class," Jose said.

While many residents of the YMCA see being separated from other students as a drawback, some students believe housing the transfer students together draws positive results.

"I think it's good they put us all together as transfer students. It gave us the chance to make friends with people in the same situation," Roman said. "[Living together] kind of helped us make those connections."

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools