Forcing all student athletes to live on campus bad for morale

William Patterson, Contributing writer

There are big changes underway at Mercyhurst, and many students are not happy about it.

Unless you completely isolated yourself last week, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of the new housing policy at Mercyhurst.

President Michael Victor’s decision to require athletes (and eventually all students) to live on campus has only been known for about a week, but it has quickly turned into one of the most talked about things since Hurst Day, and the administration needs to start listening.

A lot of students are wondering why this new policy is going into effect.

The answer, of course, is that they want more of your money. This is not a cheap place to get an education and this new policy will only make it worse.

The most expensive on-campus housing option is almost $8,000 a year per student. On the other hand, the average three-person household off campus costs around $4,800 a year per resident.

For many students, living off-campus is a financial decision and this new policy could make it difficult for many to attend an already expensive university.

Many students factored their living situation into their college choice.

It is simply not fair when students were told before admission that they would be allowed to live off campus.

All of the complaints from students so far boil down to one thing: There’s a reason students live off campus. It’s because they want to. If the students are not happy with the change, it’s not a good thing.

If Mercyhurst students constantly complain about being forced to live on campus, prospective students and athletes are going to take notice. And that is the last thing we need.

After all, who would want to go to a school where all students do is complain about it?

This university can’t operate without students, and I fear that this new policy will reduce morale on a campus that already has a tough time getting excited without free food and inflatables.