The final story in a 10-part series detailing housing options available to Boston University students for the 2004-05 academic year.
While many Boston University students complain about the lack of cable on campus and BU’s strict Guest Policy, those living in the Student Residences at 10 Buick St. can’t complain about much else.
Opened in 2000, the building is about four years old, but looks as if it opened its doors yesterday, a fact 10 Buick St. Director Laura De Veau said she hears from a lot of the people she regularly brings on tours of the building.
Delegates for the Democratic National Convention in Boston this July will be among the astonished, as it will house attendees of the event.
Kati Borden, a College of Arts and Sciences senior, called her residence “a beautiful place” where “everything’s new and well done.”
“It’s really nice that you have your own room, but you’re in an apartment with three other girls, so it’s not like you’re isolated,” Borden said of the suite-style rooms in the residence. She said the view was one of the best features of the building, and that she can see the Prudential Center, Fenway Park and the Statehouse all from her common room.
And the view is not the only thing 10 Buick St. offers, as a mailroom, laundry room, three study rooms, a computer lab, a recycling area, two music practice rooms – one with a piano and one without – and a marketplace just outside make student living easier.
“I like the fact that you get your own room,” said Meryl Schwartz, a School of Management senior. “I like the facilities, the computer lab, the accessibility of the lab, the marketplace and the common rooms.”
The residence is also open solely to juniors and seniors, which De Veau said she is glad about because they are more interesting to deal with.
“They’re more complicated,” she said. “They are more interesting and they are fully in their lives at Boston University.”
De Veau also said the kinds of people living in the residence add to its ambiance – the building houses numerous campus organization executive board members, including the president of the Student Union. By having all of the leaders in one building, De Veau said it makes for “a really neat environment.”
As for recently submitted proposals about cable and a relaxed Guest Policy possibly being implemented in the future, De Veau said it is all up in the air.
“Dean Elmore has the ball in his court,” she said. “He’s been pretty clear that he would take some time to evaluate [the proposals].”
Even if cable is not added to campus, 10 Buick St. residents get the benefit of “enhanced antenna,” De Veau said, which allows students to hook into one large antenna rather than several smaller ones of their own.
But students pay for the added benefits 10 Buick St. offers – a room in the building costs about $3,500 more than what the university calls the “standard minimum fee” of $6,180. Borden said, however, that the $9,700 price tag is worth it.
“A lot of people complain that it’s expensive, but you save money on food because you don’t have to have a dining plan,” she said.
As for other complaints about 10 Buick St., Borden said the Guest Policy is an issue, although she admitted, “Most of the guards are pretty cool.”
Other problems include clogged toilets, which seem to have problems “every two seconds,” according to Schwartz.
Having only upperclassmen in the residence also makes the job of resident assistants much different, De Veau said.
“An RA for what this building would be is much different than at Warren [Towers],” she said. “Here, the RAs have to seek out their residents and a lot of the residents don’t think they need them.”
But being a director for older students is also difficult, De Veau said of her position, because she has to make decisions that upset students. One such decision – to lock the door between the marketplace and the residence’s lobby – was one of Schwartz’s complaints.
“People will be unhappy with me,” De Veau said.
Regardless, 10 Buick St. offers students the freedom of apartment-style living with the security of a campus dorm and the excitement of numerous events planned by the residence’s Residence Hall Association. The combination makes 10 Buick St. one of the most sought after dorms that fills up quickly on selection day.
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