That random journal by that random girl

Yes, my college, my dear dear Calvin College, is talking about charging students a "security deposit" in order to allow us to live off-campus; just to be sure we "behave ourselves."

I would encourage all non-student readers to please write to the college about this; this is an issue where they won't care about students complaining (they expect it), where faculty will hardly even know about the issue (it doesn't really affect them), but where public image is critical to them, whether from older relatives of students (ie, "potential donors") or from the common public; they do not want to lose face; indeed; it is mostly public image that is driving them to consider these changes. Please write to them if there's any point on here that you agree with me on; the only complaint that I can make at this point is dropping out, which honestly I might consider if they make all the changes being discussed, especially the security deposit. The issue is not the amount of money; the issue is whether or not they should take it at all.

The context (for those of you unawares) is that there has been a city crack-down this semester on people living beyond the city's legal maximum of four (unrelated) people per house. Naturally, many of the perpetrators in the Calvin area are Calvin students (it’s cheaper if you can split bills between more people). Calvin feels a need to respond to this because it mars their public image. So they had a meeting (refer to the first link at the end of this page) to discuss how they as a college can respond to it. One of the things being discussed is charging students a (rather large) security deposit before “allowing” them to live off-campus; and I suppose that they would deduct charges from it if they received complaints about you.

My attitude is that if I have removed myself from Calvin supervision by moving off-campus, then I can darn well be held accountable to my new overseers; the city; who makes these rules and has been responsible for enforcing them. I have no intention of paying Calvin any amount of money for the "privilege" of not being forced to live like a canned sardine at a rock concert, especially when the deposit they are charging is merely to ensure that I don't do so. Besides, I have already paid a security deposit to my landlord, to whom I am responsible.

I want my money in a bank earning interest, or paying off student loans. But frankly, I could want to use my money to feed pet silverfish or make $100-bill-oragami; it doesn’t matter what I want to do with it; it matters that Calvin has no right to take it. I live where I live. I happen to attend Calvin. The only common link is me: Calvin has nothing to do with my housing.

It is also well worth noting that Calvin abolished the on-campus security deposits (which I believe were only for $100; a third of what they're discussing for us) over two years ago; so this is a fee that they felt inappropriate to charge to people who were actually renting from them and in a position to cause direct damage to Calvin within their living situation.

In short: Calvin has decided that they have no right to preemptively take money from students using on-campus housing, but now they are trying to claim a comparable right (to three times as much money) with students who are living entirely independently of Calvin.

I am aware that this fee is "refundable" upon graduation. But getting $300 back a year (or two or whatever) from today is worth less than keeping the $300 today, especially if someone has to take out a loan with interest to make the initial payment, and they make no compensation for that, and so in that sense, they are actually permanently taking money, and in a fee that they really have no business charging to begin with.

As I have stated to my mother, I moved off campus so that I could leave Big Brother behind me when I got home for the day (those of you who miss the reference, please read a summary of “1984”). Nor have I, in my nearly 3 years of living off-campus, ever had a complaint from neighbors, much less from police. I've been able to live quite peaceably; once given a peaceable place to live, for which on-campus housing certainly does not qualify. I might feel differently if the on-campus housing allowed a similar lifestyle to the one they are trying to mandate.

Frankly, I think Calvin is just using the situation at hand for a power grab.

They are also talking about a mandatory class (also in response to this issue) that would include, amongst other things, how to cook and recycle (recycling is not always available off-campus, and is already taught to incoming students when moving on-campus where it is available and expected). No offense, but I'm not from the hoity-toity "middle" class that constitutes much of Calvin, and I darn well knew how to cook for myself before coming here (I eat better, and cheaper, than many of my professors who might be teaching such a class), and while the option of such a class may be a necessity for many students, I don't think it should be made mandatory, and certainly not in response to zoning ordinances and noise complaints.

If I may indulge in some sarcasm, I'm quite glad to know that my college finally understands that all of my wild drunken 3-am parties with 50 friends puking up in my front yard have been caused by mere ignorance of how to cook, and I always feel so much frustration that my friends don’t separate their cans from their bottles after we’re all wasted for the night; in fact, the only way to cope with the frustration is to go have another drinking party to help me forget it. Indeed, all neighbor complaints about students clearly fall back to our own deprivation of proper cooking techniques and recycling, and forcing us to sit through lectures on these topics will transform all of us into model citizens. I have seen the light, and shall forever be blessed through the transformation of Calvin’s parental guidance!

OK, I'll grant that in extremely severe cases, kitchen ignorance might explain friends puking in the front yard on their way out the door, but beyond that, I fail to see any correlation to the complaints at hand, and think Calvin is inarguably using the issue as an excuse for another mandatory "parental" hand-holding for all of us "poor unguided students." It comes back to my main point: Calvin’s using this to enable a cover-all power-grab.

The article in the student newspaper which reported this (and I'll admit does not specify if all of these changes will take place or merely might take place) is here. clubs.calvin.edu/chimes/article.php

Those of you interested in further details of the on-campus housing alternative are strongly encouraged to read these articles (the second is a response to the first one): clubs.calvin.edu/chimes/article.php, http://clubs.calvin.edu/chimes/article.php?id=4320

Thanks for reading. Please consider writing. Calvin's address is 3201 Burton SE, Grand Rapids MI, 49546, and possible areas to focus your letters would include John Britton, associate dean of Student Development; Shirley Hoogstra, Vice President of Student Life; or you could even just put "off-campus issues" on the envelope and see who ends up with it (hey, if they don't have a department for it, maybe that's another clue that it's out of their realm of reasonable influence?)

On to finals for me.