Katherine Johnson
Columnist
Recently, VCU has been advertising all the new additions to campus. This includes the new parking deck, a few new food restaurants and, of course, the new residence building specifically for sophomores. Or so we thought.
As I opened my mailbox to find a flyer for the ASPIRE program, I found that this was not true. I quickly read over it to learn that the new “sophomore” building would house residents of the new ASPIRE program. ASPIRE stands for Academic Scholars Program in Real Environments, and according to the website, is “an innovative and comprehensive community engagement-focused living-learning program for sophomores at Virginia Commonwealth University.”
One of the biggest problems at VCU is housing, and as I was deciding on what school to attend, this was the only negative point I discovered at the school. I was swayed, however, when I learned that sophomores would have housing opening in 2012.
To say I was disappointed when I learned of the ASPIRE program is an understatement.
How could a new “sophomore” building be turned into an academic living community when sophomores have no other housing options? This was the first dorm built to be exclusively for sophomores, but now there’s a loophole.
To investigate more, I emailed the program asking if the building was only open to those participating in the program. The reply I received informed me that 3 floors will be open to non-ASPIRE students. That should hold a little less than 200 sophomores. To put that into perspective, the university estimated our class to have about 3,800 students at the beginning of fall semester. I wouldn’t hold my breath on getting a room.
The program also plans to expand so that eventually, the whole building will house their participants. Basically if you’re not in the program, you can’t live there.
Was this false advertising on VCU’s part or an attempt to make students participate in a program when they really just want on campus housing? In reality, this is not a sophomore dorm as VCU stated it would be. It’s a sophomore dorm for ASPIRE students.
By specifically assigning ASPIRE students to the building, VCU has left out the rest of their rising sophomores who may have wanted to pursue university housing after their sophomore years. If students want to be in the program, they must apply, and if accepted, take an extra four credits of classes specifically for ASPIRE. Not only are they forced into a program just for housing, they have to waste time and money on extra classes.
Sophomores who thought they had a secure housing option for next year are sure to be frustrated by this. While many students do live off campus or commute, this simply isn’t an option for some students. On-campus housing has a lot of benefits, and for many it ends up being cheaper than finding their own place, furnishing it and paying bills.
I’m pretty sure this isn’t what future sophomores thought of when they heard they’d have brand new housing. The new West Grace Street South residence hall has a lot of perks, including being brand new, close to campus and having in-house dining establishments. The majority of sophomores, however, will not be able to experience “their” new building, unless they’re interested in ASPIRE.
Where does that leave upcoming sophomores? It’s back to the lottery system, unless you can afford off-campus housing, where you lose some of the positive benefits from living on campus. Good luck to everyone in the class of 2015; we’ll all be fighting for a room on one of the three floors.