Many familiar and new faces can be seen coming in and out of the resident halls.
One of those faces is that of psychology sophomore Kim O’Meara.
Although this is her second semester of living on campus, O’Meara attended IU Southeast before moving here.
“I started having car problems and was having trouble getting to class,” she said.
“So living on campus was the best choice to make.”
O’Meara said that the best part about living on campus is not having to drive to class, which helps her save on gas
“Not only was my commute a hassle that took too much time, but now I’m saving money on gas. I used to spend about $60 a week on gas but now I’m down to $20 or $30,” she said.
O’Meara said that the worst part about living on campus as are the regulations placed on student’s festivities.
“You can’t really party. There are more rules here than if I were on my own,” O’Meara, said.
However, O’Meara said the benefits of having a dry campus and strict alcohol and drug regulations outweigh whatever damper they put on student pastimes.
“It’s disappointing but I’m glad there’s not a lot of partying going on. It would be too much for an academic environment” she said.
O’Meara, who now lives in Meadow Lodge, first lived in Woodland Lodge. She said Woodland Lodge’s lack of parking caused her first real disappointment about living on campus.
“Woodland was the only lodge without a parking lot and that got to be a real pain sometimes” she said.
Living on campus at IU Southeast has one feature that is different from on-campus housing at some other universities, O’Meara said.
“I’m happy that we can come and go as we please,” O’Meara said.
“A lot of other campuses have curfews and stuff that don’t allow you as much freedom.”
She said that occasionally living with other students can be difficult, and she had experienced problems with her past roommates.
“Everything is good now, but before I had loud and messy roommates,” O’Meara said.
“It was almost like they never had homework or had to study. Many times I had to leave the apartment just to study. It eventually got to where I was staying in the lodge less and less.”
Despite her bad experience last semester, O’Meara said she maintains a positive attitude about living on campus.
“I think its great being around people my age. It seems like I’m always meeting new people. I also think I do better in school by living on campus because I have more accessibility to campus resources” she said.
With the reports of residents burning food and other such disasters going on in the residence halls, one may wonder if all the residents are as much trouble being out on their own.
O’Meara said she is not one of them.
“I’ve not really had any trouble being on my own. I was always independent even before I came to college,” O’Meara said.
O’Meara said she plans to live on campus until she graduates.
After that, she said she hopes to work with children and maybe seek a career in child psychology.
However, she said she does not plan to stay in the local area.
“I want to move south, maybe near a beach. That’s what my dream is.”
By DESIREE SMITH
Staff Writer
demismit@ius.edu