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OPINION
10
WWW.GUILFORDIAN.COM
Is Guilford giving enough thought to
whom they grant offcampus housing?
BY MOLLY
SCHNEIDER
Staff Writer
College: the first step taken towards
true independence. Most students
lived with their parents full-time
before Guilford, so living on a college
campus away from
their support system
is a big deal. But can
Guilford's campus
truly satisfy every
student's needs?
For those who
believe Guilford's
campus isn't exactly
their niche, there
is an alternative
option: off-campus
housing. There is a
set of requirements
to apply for off-
campus housing, but just because you
are 21 or have ADA accommodations
doesn't mean your request to live off-
campus will become a reality.
Sophomore Holly Haid, who
now lives off campus, shared some
distressing information regarding her
experiences with Residence Life.
"I requested for off-campus mostly
because I have an eating disorder
and severe anxiety," said Haid in an
email interview. "When 1 submitted
my medical paperwork stating I had
been diagnosed with anorexia nervosa
along with my release papers from my
treatment centers, the response 1 got
from Residence Life was that it was
a past diagnosis (and) thus was not
relevant.
"Just because I have gained the
weight back does not mean that 1 am
mentally recovered, and anyone who
took the time to research anorexia
would quickly discover this. Their
ignorance was shocking to me."
Once Haid was denied, her therapist
wrote another note explaining that it
would be best for Haid to have access
to a kitchen as well as more seclusion.
It was likely that if she were to remain
on campus it could trigger a relapse.
Some might argue diat Haid could
opt to live in the apartments or a
theme house, but when you add the
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tuition and a meal plan it can become
very unaffordable.
"I found that I had a hard time
finding a place I liked enough to live
after my first two years," said junior
Julia Beveridge, who also lives off-
campus. "I would have loved to live in
the apartments, but I couldn't afford
them."
The costs of the apartments and
theme houses range from $3,645 to
$4,470, or roughly $900 to $1,100 per
month, per person.
The policy is pretty concrete, and it
was started back when CCE students
were integrated onto Guilford's
campus.
"The line was put at 23 because
that was the line for CCE eligibility,"
said former Vice President for Student
Affairs and Dean of Students Aaron
Fetrow. "We didn't want say, a 30-year-
old student living in the same space as
a bunch of 18-year-olds."
It seems a little off that a policy
designed to keep a particular group
of students off campus would aim to
hold unwilling students, like Haid
and Beveridge, on campus.
Beveridge also had trouble applying
for off-campus. She ended up having
to jump through a loophole: becoming
a part-time student.
Though it worked out for her in the
end, should it have been so hard for
her in the first place?
Not to knock living on campus,
as many students find it a vital
part of their First Year Experience
when integrating into the Guilford
community.
"I think the (first year and even
the second year) of living on campus,
learning to live in a community with
people you go to school with, is
incredibly essential and necessary,"
said Beveridge.
But once she had successfully
integrated into Guilford's community
she decided to move off campus.
"It's tough to be living around so
many people," said Beveridge. "I am
pretty introverted. I love hanging
around people when I am ready, but
I want to be able to walk out my door
and not have 50-200 people who know
me be right there."
When considering students like
Beveridge and Haid, Guilford should
reevaluate its policy or rather have
students take part in that reevaluation.
Senior Mace Smith proposed a great
solution to this.
"I think there should be a committee
of students focused on thinking about
the issue of the housing policy," said
Smith. "It should be represented by a
diverse team of two to three students
who know all the talking points and
issues surrounding the subject."
Residence life has intentionality
behind students living on campus.
"We want a vibrant campus
community," said Maria Hayden,
coordinator of housing operations.
"We want our residence halls to feel
full and social."
Although this is true, not everyone
is happy living at Guilford, and when
students like Haid or Beveridge
are denied, it starts to feel like a
punishment.
The community should think about
this issue because even if it means
the policy stays the same, needs like
Haid's and Beveridge's should not
be pushed aside so easily. Happy
students make a happy campus.
"... there should be a committee of students focused on
thinking about the issue of the housing policy."
Mace Smith, senior
• I *
BY MATTHEW
JONES
Staff Writer
Let immigrant children
stay in N.C., instead of
forcing them to leave
They come from Guatemala, Honduras and El
Salvador. They flee extreme poverty, drug violence and
sexual abuse. They have traveled hundreds of miles
through sweltering heat and dangerous terrain in search
of a haven far away from the troubles
back home.
And North Carolina Governor Pat
McCrory doesn't want them in our
state.
Federal immigration officials have
placed roughly 1,200 unaccompanied
children, who crossed into the U.S.
illegally, with sponsors in North
Carolina over the last year while
awaiting hearings on their residency
status. McCrory and other critics
of this move have voiced concerns
that sponsors haven't been properly
vetted, that social services and schools
can't handle the additional people and that the children
pose a public health risk.
Despite these issues, which have been greatly
exaggerated by critics, we have an obligation to the
children to help them and allow them into our state, at
least until they have an opportunity to present their case
for permanent residency in court.
Many of the children who have made their way to
North Carolina are escaping extreme circumstances in
their home countries.
Stacie Blake, the director of government and outreach
at the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants,
which partially operates in North Carolina, told The
News & Observer that 95 percent of the girls in the
program were raped before reaching the U.S.
"It is important to see the context of why the children
are coming here," said sophomore Jose Oliva, coordinator
of Roads to College and an immigrant from Guatemala
himself, in an email interview with The Guilfordian. "A
lot of them are leaving their countries because (of) crime
and gangs. They often have two options: stay and die, or
leave and try to survive."
One issue McCrory brought up at a press conference
on Aug. 5 is that children are being placed with sponsors
who haven't had proper background screenings.
"I feel very strongly that these children could be put
in more harm's way than the conditions in which they
came from," said McCrory.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, the agency runs background checks on
sponsors and home studies for households where safety
is questionable before a child is placed.
"Under the law, we have a legal responsibility to place
children in the least restrictive setting that is in the best
interest of the child," said Kevin Wolfe, a spokesperson
for the DHHS, to The News & Observer.
This usually means placing the child with a family
member or, if that is not possible, another person the
child knows. In almost any case, the situation is still
better than what many children are fleeing in their home
countries.
Other critics have said that allowing children into
North Carolina will burden both public school districts
and state social services.
"These 1,200 kids break down to 12 kids per county
in North Carolina," said Dani Moore, director of
immigrants' rights with the North Carolina Justice
Center, in an interview with The Asheville Citizen-
Times. "To say we cannot accommodate the number of
endangered students is just ridiculous."
Additionally, because the children are not citizens,
they will not receive most social services provided by
the government such as food stamps. In fact, they will
qualify for little more than some emergency Medicaid
benefits and public school enrollment.
Another oft-repeated chorus from critics of placing
children with sponsors in NC is that the children are
a potential threat to public health especially when
vaccination records aren't available.
However, according to the DHHS's website, all
children are screened for potential health problems when
they arrive at an Office of Refugee Relocation facility.
"As a precaution, ORR is providing vaccinations to
all children who do not have documentation of previous
valid doses of vaccine," said the website.
McCrory's criticisms, which seem to be prone to
hyperbole, are far outweighed by the needs of the
children. In addition, they appear to be motivated by a
desire to position himself as a hardliner on immigration
policy rather than on a need to do what is best for the
children.
"Governor McCrory is sending a clear message that
immigrants, even children who are fleeing violence,
are unwelcome in North Carolina," said Angeline
Echeverria, executive director of El Pueblo Inc., in a
media statement on Aug. 5. "Instead of presenting
proactive strategies for effective immigrant integration,
the Governor continues to waste state resources by
focusing his time and energy on this media campaign to
criticize federal'authorities."' ' ‘ ' ' •