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PAGE 3 • THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 2019
First-year live-on requirement increases demand for off-campus housing Martha Topolnitski Correspondent
The first-year live-on campus requirement has been pushing students, especially upperclassmen, to seek off-campus housing options as early as their second year. Although students have a variety of options to choose from off campus, questions about affordability, convenience and proximity still remain. This requirement was first implemented in the 2017-2018 academic year, and while there are spots reserved for first-years in dorms and parts of Wolf Village, returning students only had guaranteed housing options reserved for them in Wolf Ridge, according to Katerina Pawvluk, the associate director of housing operations, assignments and conference services. “Wolf Ridge is an option strictly for returning students, so it gives them that option for them to be able to return if they want to,” Pawvluk said. “There are some other things we are looking at doing to provide more resources to returning students in finding housing accommodations.” Pawvluk said that the requirement does have many positive aspects for first-years beginning
their college careers. “Research shows that students who live on campus do better academically, they transition better, they socially adjust a little faster when they live on campus, when they’re around support services and they’re around other students going through what they’re going through,” Pawvluk said. “They have all of the programs and all of the resources that are here on campus. They do much better in their first year and progress into their second year better.” In terms of housing options, not only is space limited for upperclassmen, but many students must plan far in advance for the next year’s living situation. With an early and small window to solidify the following year’s living situation, students may have to make decisions pertaining to housing in a shorter period of time, as explained by Tate Brandt, a fourth-year studying polymer and color chemistry. “You definitely had to start looking [for housing] before winter break,” Brandt said. “After that, it really filled up quickly.” Affordability continues to be a priority for students. Although NC State doesn’t have many housing opportunities for upperclassmen, students like Josh Walker, a fourth-year studying
business administration and accounting, agreed that off-campus housing can be affordable while still being convenient in terms of proximity to classes and a satisfactory living space. Walker stated that there is a variety of housing options available off campus, ranging from affordable apartments and houses to expensive ones. “There are super cheap apartments, expensive apartments, cheap houses and expensive houses all over the place,” Walker GLENN WAGSTAFF/ARCHIVE University Housing has an office in Pullen Hall. said. Even with numerous housing options available, off-campus housing the next few years, as reported by ITB Insider. According to ITB Insider, not only will this options are being expanded upon, according building offer new housing in addition to the to ITB Insider. The newest residential building “The Stan- existing buildings, like Valentine Commons dard,” which will be located on Hillsborough and Stanhope apartment complexes, but it may Street, is in the process of being built. This will also offer a greater variety of pricing options be a new housing option for students within for students.
Sexual assault reporting process explained Boz Kaloyanov
Assistant News Editor
The U.S. Department of Education has proposed changes to Title IX, the federal legislation enacted to provide procedures for investigating sexual assault and harassment on federallyfunded college and university campuses. While these recent changes have prompted backlash from university community members, the process for reporting sexual assault on college campuses has largely been the same since the bill was passed. The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights issued what is known as the Dear Colleague letter in April of 2011, which urged colleges to follow certain procedures still in
use today. Dave Johnson, an assistant equal opportunity officer at NC State’s Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity (OIED), explained the implications of the letter and how Title IX functions on a day-to-day basis. “The Dear Colleague letter outlined a national call for action because of statistics regarding sexual assault on college campuses,” Johnson said. “Research was being done; people were seeing things, like one in five women were victims of completed or attempted sexual assaults on college campuses.” Later, during the Obama administration, the law was clarified further and some structural guidelines were established, according to Johnson.
“First, all schools are going to designate a Title IX coordinator, somebody who is in charge of all things Title IX at your university,” Johnson said. “The next thing is that once a school knows or reasonably should know of possible sexual assault on campus, they must take immediate and appropriate action to investigate the situation. If sexual violence has occurred, they must take prompt and immediate steps to end the sexual violence, prevent the recurrence and prevent its effects.” The law covers a wide variety of forms of sexual harassment, including sexual violence, sexual exploitation and stalking. Ultimately, the most important factor to consider is consent, according to Johnson. Johnson also pointed out supplementary
parts of the legislature, like no-contact orders, which require two parties affected by a Title IX report to avoid all forms of interaction. Additionally, he mentioned that the law covers the issue of potential retaliation, so if a victim of harassment was treated unfairly by a party as a result of filing a report, the law would offer protection. Filing a Title IX complaint begins at the OIED, where the primary task is to gather information, Johnson explained. Even then, while a report can be filed, whether the university officially takes action is up to the survivor. “Unless there is a danger to the campus, we won’t proceed without a student wanting to
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