[nabs-l] Campus Housing and social concerns.

Thu Jan 9 23:24:00 UTC 2014

Thanks; I'm just trying to pull all the resources I can.

On 1/9/14, justin williams <justin.williams2 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Good luck; I like your approach so far.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kaiti Shelton
> Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2014 3:16 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Campus Housing and social concerns.
>
> Hi,
>
> I'm still looking into the random match thing.  I know that housing
> reserves
> the right to put students where there is an empty bed, but I'm not sure of
> the process to make them aware of that.
>
> We use this thing called a "Housing Lottery."  Groups form in late January
> and early February, then every group is assigned a lottery number which
> determines when the group can pick the place they want to live in on this
> online platform.  I know there is a period where groups who don't find a
> suitable arrangement can regroup and add members, but I'm really just
> unsure
> of how all this works.  I have asked if anyone from my class could tell me
> about it on the same posts I've used to mention that I am roommate-less.
> I'm really behind the 8-ball since my group chose a housing option which
> was
> special interest housing last year, so we didn't have to do the lottery
> when
> everyone else figured out how to do it as freshmen.
>
> I have emailed someone from housing to see if I could meet with someone to
> go over my options, and to see if they can explain some of the processes to
> me so I know what will be going on.  I really only want to go through
> disability services if I absolutely have to, and did see some things about
> their process.  Basically, I would be in a dorm room and most likely by
> myself.  This is really not an ideal situation as the majority of my
> classes
> are in a building that is on the opposite side of campus from the dorms.  I
> was also hoping to remain in an apartment or something with a kitchen so
> that I could continue to work on my cooking skills, and be a little closer
> to that side of campus.
>
> I'm also looking into independently owned apartments off-campus.  The thing
> that worries me is that the area surrounding campus isn't great, and I
> don't
> want to go too far away because I would have to walk there by myself.
> Since
> I'm in a campus apartment now I can use a student escort service, but if I
> get an apartment outside the limits of campus I will not be able to use
> that
> to get home in the dark.  There is a single apartment a friend of mine
> lived
> in last semester, but it's right by a bar/nightclub that is kind of shadey,
> and I don't know hat that would be the best idea for me either.  However,
> that particular apartment is still within the escort service's limits, so
> it
> is better than going off campus.
>
> On 1/9/14, justin williams <justin.williams2 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I like the transfer idea.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Arielle
>> Silverman
>> Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2014 2:23 PM
>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Campus Housing and social concerns.
>>
>> Does the university sponsor any apartments where students can be
>> randomly matched with roommates? It seems like they should have
>> something for older students who transfer in and don't know anyone, or
>> those who don't have a "group" of on-campus friends for whatever
>> reason. I lived in such an apartment with two different roommates with
>> whom I was randomly matched and both of them worked out well.
>> Or could you try just renting a one-bedroom apartment off campus by
>> yourself?
>> Arielle
>>
>> On 1/9/14, Kaiti Shelton <crazy4clarinet104 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Hi Justin,
>>>
>>> The bulletin board thing may work.  I have put several posts out on
>>> Facebook, including on in my class group.  I have also messaged
>>> another girl who said she was looking for potential roommates for
>>> next year, but she has not responded in the few days since I got back
>>> to her.
>>>
>>> On 1/9/14, justin williams <justin.williams2 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> Maybe try a bulletin board or facebook announcement.  Something that
>>>> will reach a lot of people.
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kaiti
>>>> Shelton
>>>> Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2014 12:14 PM
>>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>>> Subject: [nabs-l] Campus Housing and social concerns.
>>>>
>>>> Hi all,
>>>>
>>>> Please let me know if you have any suggestions on this.
>>>>
>>>> I go to a fairly small university, where 90% of the students live on
>>>> campus.
>>>> Figuring out housing for the next year can be very complex, as the
>>>> university pushes students to have groups put together.  The groups
>>>> are especially important for upperclassmen to have, since a lot of
>>>> their housing is apartments and houses around campus.
>>>>
>>>> Two friends and I formed a group of 3 in freshman year, and at the
>>>> time we thought we would stay together.  We got an apartment this
>>>> year and things were going really well.  Just over break one of the
>>>> girls decided that she was going to transfer to a school closer to
>>>> home for personal reasons, and the other has said for a while that
>>>> since she lives fairly close she is planning on commuting for junior
>>>> year.
>>>> Therefore, the plan of my friend who transfered and I getting an
>>>> apartment together has fallen through.  I have also applied to live
>>>> in my fraternity house, but unfortunately I was not accepted.
>>>>
>>>> One of the things I've noticed about my school is that the students
>>>> can be pretty cliquey.  My two friends and I sort of had our own
>>>> little group because we didn't fall in to any of the larger ones
>>>> early on in freshman year.  I now see two problems forming for
>>>> junior year; I am friendly with a lot of people, but wasn't
>>>> particularly close to anyone other than my two friends on campus.
>>>> I'm pretty extroverted though, and love being around other people.
>>>> It was so easy to socialize as a freshman because even though I was
>>>> a little shy in the beginning other people would go out of their way
>>>> to be friendly and welcoming.  It seems kind of awkward now that I'm
>>>> halfway through sophomore year.  A lot of those I am not close to do
>>>> not really know me that well, but I'm worried that since a year and
>>>> a half has gone by with us just being acquaintances that it might be
>>>> difficult for them to really get to know me.  The second issue is of
>>>> course that I will not have someone to be in a group with me for
>>>> housing.
>>>>
>>>> I have looked at the housing web site.  Juniors and seniors cannot
>>>> live in the dorms because they're reserved for freshman and
>>>> sophomore students.
>>>> I
>>>> would use a dorm as a fall back plan, but that isn't going to work.
>>>> A lot of the apartment suites are either quads or tripples, so I
>>>> would need at least 2 more people to get into one of those.  There
>>>> is almost nothing available for two people, and there appear to be
>>>> no options available for just one in case I would need to just look
>>>> for myself.
>>>>
>>>> I've come up with a few obvious ways to try to fix this; A lot of
>>>> the problem that I'm sure other music majors can attest to is that I
>>>> spend a lot of time around the same very small group of people.
>>>> There are about 100 students in the department, and these are the
>>>> people I am always around.
>>>> They have already grouped up, and that was also how I met my two
>>>> friends that I lived with last semester.  I will be taking some more
>>>> gen ed courses this semester which could help with getting out of
>>>> the familiar social circles, but since I'm going to be going to
>>>> class I'm not sure how much time there will really be for socializing.
>>>>  I have looked up some clubs which might be good to join, and a lot
>>>> of them sound like things I will really enjoy.  However, I usually
>>>> take a large number of credits, and have a lot on my plate for next
>>>> semester again.  I really do feel like joining a new club would be a
>>>> good way for me to branch out and meet new people, but I am not sure
>>>> if I will have the extra time to devote to it.  The added component
>>>> is that a lot of the clubs that caught my interest were social
>>>> justice groups like Best Buddies and Big Brothers Big Sisters, so if
>>>> I joined one of these groups and had to back out I would also be
>>>> letting down someone else.
>>>>
>>>> I know that if all else fails the disability office can help secure
>>>> housing, but I'm hoping to get a group together and not have to go
>>>> through them.
>>>> Of
>>>> course, if it comes down to just needing a place to sleep, I will do
>>>> it.
>>>>
>>>> Has anyone ever been in a similar situation where either you had
>>>> housing concerns or felt like you really needed to branch out?  What
>>>> were some things which worked for you?
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Kaiti
>>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Kaiti
>>>
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>>
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>
>
> --
> Kaiti
>
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-- 
Kaiti