Third in a series of stories detailing housing options available to Boston University students for the 2004-05 academic year.
Turn onto St. Mary’s Street, walk over the Massachusetts Turnpike on the notoriously wind-whipped bridge and you will find South Campus, removed from Boston University’s main drag on Commonwealth Avenue.
And that’s just what students like about it.
“I like the fact that it’s actually a neighborhood,” said College of Engineering sophomore and South Campus Engineering House resident Kevin Clark. “Bay State’s one long road. Here, I have a little block I can walk around.”
Despite feeling like a separate neighborhood, College of Arts and Sciences Junior Gita Tiku said South Campus’s location is unlike that of West Campus – it’s close to the rest of campus.
“We can get up 15 minutes before class and it’s fine,” she said.
Many residents said South’s biggest perks are the lack of guard booths and a sense of freedom from large dorm life. Though students act as their own security guards, resident assistants live in 41 of South Campus’ 76 buildings. Campus housing rules – those governing illegal appliances and alcohol limits – still stand, according to South Campus Area Director Yvette Lancaster.
“Students move down to South Campus and there’s a lot more freedom,” she said. “With that comes the assumption that certain policies no longer apply.”
But living in a community separate from campus is not for everyone, said College of Arts and Sciences junior Victoria Cataldo.
“I wouldn’t move here expecting to meet new people because everyone already has their friends,” she said. “If I was a freshman, I wouldn’t want to live here at all.”
Nearly 2,000 Boston University students call South Campus home. The area’s buildings line several streets, and whether students are looking for an apartment, a dorm or a suite, South Campus has it all.
“We have every living option the Office of Housing offers to students,” Lancaster said.
Apartments are the residences that get snatched up first at room selection, she said. South Campus has the most apartments on campus and they house anywhere from one to five people in several combinations of single, double and triple rooms. Dormitory-style residences offer singles, doubles and triples, as well as five-person suites.
South Campus also draws students to its eight specialty residences, including the Performing Arts and Honors houses.
Students living in apartments aren’t required to purchase a dining plan, but those who do not have a kitchen walk back over St. Mary’s Bridge to eat on campus – often at Warren Towers, the closest dining hall.
The buildings on South were constructed as townhouses in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and BU acquired them starting in the 1966. Lancaster said that because of South’s history, each building and room is unique. Students interested in South should ask other students to give them tours because there are no official tours offered, she said.
“With a lot of these buildings being chopped up from private owners – it’s never the same,” she said. “It’s based on what they could create a room out of.”
ENG sophomore Daniel Holmes said the variety of buildings and rooms could cause problems for students who want to move to South.
“It’s really hit or miss,” he said. “If you know a nice place, try to get in that place. If you don’t, it’s going to be random.”
One issue with older buildings is maintenance problems, students said. CAS sophomore Katie Lyons said some of her ceiling tiles were falling in her apartment, but Buildings ‘ Grounds came in and redid the entire ceiling.
Lancaster said no major building renovations are planned for the near future, but maintenance jobs are common, such as the recent installation of new windows on many of the buildings.
Student reports of rats and cockroaches overwhelm the South Campus Residence Life Office, Lancaster said – they sometimes come several times a week. She said B’G responds to the cases, but the problem often returns because students do not pick up after themselves.
“The more things you leave out in the common area and the less you clean up, the more trouble you’re going to see,” she said.
Lancaster said the long-term goal for South Campus is to break the stereotype that it has no community feel.
“The smaller buildings allow you to get away from the big picture and have more intimate relationships with the people in your building,” she said.