Jeffrey Albelo has seen bees under the porch and sewage in the basement of the off-campus rental he shares with three roommates.

But Albelo — a junior psychology major at Syracuse University — said the benefits of living off campus outweigh the downsides.

“You don’t fall under the restrictions of SU, you’re free to do your own thing … (and) in regards to the financial, it’s more positive for me,” Albelo said.

Like many students — especially students of color — Albelo, who is Puerto Rican, took out loans for college.

The average Latinx student at a private nonprofit institution graduates with $36,266 in debt — approximately $4,800 more than the average white student, according to a 2015 report by the public policy think tank Demos.

Now that Albelo lives off campus, his scholarship provides him with a refund check he uses to pay for rent, groceries and other expenses. He said the lower cost of housing off campus helped him save money.

About 52 percent of SU undergraduates live off campus, according to a 2016 Campus Climate survey. Students are currently required to live in on-campus housing for two years.

But in February, Michele Wheatly, SU’s vice chancellor and provost, said the university might soon require incoming students to live on campus for three years.

“I find that requirement really bullsh*t,” Albelo said of the three-year proposal. “You’re trying to suck up money from these kids — you’re trying to suck them dry.”

The university plans to raise tuition by $5,060, which includes a $3,300 tuition premium and 3.9 percent tuition increase for students matriculating in fall 2018. Adding an extra year on campus for incoming students could possibly increase the cost of attendance because living on-campus housing is typically more expensive.

Using the median monthly rent on Orangehousing.com, as of Sept. 25 — plus the estimated cost of food, electricity and wireless internet — the bill for a 10-month residence off-campus comes is approximately $10,000. This is about $5,500 less per academic year than SU’s listed room and board.

“(The increasing cost of college) disproportionately affects minority and low-income students — students who don’t necessarily have the resources to pay for college,” said Robert Kelchen, assistant professor of higher education at Seton Hall University.

An additional financial burden can impact graduation rates. About 28 percent of both black and Latinx students who borrow money to attend college leave without finishing their degrees, compared with 17 percent of their white counterparts, according to Demos.

Without a corresponding increase in financial aid, escalating costs could make SU out of reach for most families, while New York’s state universities expand scholarships for lower- and middle-income students, said Stephen Cross, an associate acting professor at SU who is on the University Senate’s Committee on Student Life.

“There is in that push-pull, the danger of us becoming a less diverse community,” Cross said.

One of SU’s assistant directors of financial aid, who oversees several scholarship programs for lower-income students, did not respond to an email requesting comment.

Dolan Evanovich, senior vice president for enrollment and the student experience, said in an email statement that research suggests living on campus boosts student retention, graduation and academic performance.

Living on campus for the first year of college does increase the likelihood that students will stay in school for a second year by about 3.3 percentage points, according to a 2011 study by Lauren Schudde, assistant professor in the University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy.

“Three percentage points — it’s not huge, but it’s statistically significant,” Schudde said. “But we also have to balance out … the potential 3 percent bump that an average student would get — is that worth more than the cost out of pocket?”

An additional year of on-campus housing could create additional burdens for students from marginalized communities beyond the increase in cost, said Frank Vernon, an affiliate scholar with the Wisconsin Center for Education Research.

“My research has shown that (on-campus) dining services sometimes contribute to food insecurity rather than solve it,” Vernon said. “Generally speaking, students pay more to eat on campus than they would if they were able to cook for themselves.”

Not all students of color at SU would be adversely affected by the proposed requirement, though.

Alberto Lainez, a sociology major who is a member of the Latino fraternity Lambda Alpha Upsilon, said he chose to live on South Campus for his junior year — instead of living off campus with older fraternity brothers — because of convenience.

“College is already stressful enough as it is,” said Lainez. “You don’t want that extra stress of, like, ‘Oh, I can’t afford the bill this month,’ or ‘I can’t afford rent,’ or ‘I can’t afford the internet this month.’”

Lainez said he and his roommate are weighing the options for senior year, and while he is leaning toward moving off campus, he doesn’t have a strong preference either way.

Albelo said, ultimately, the choice of where to live after sophomore year should be up to the individual student.

“I just find it ridiculous, to be honest,” Albelo said. “Why should I be forced to live on campus an extra year?”

Published on October 8, 2017 at 9:56 pm

Contact Madeleine: mdavison@syr.edu