At University View, freshman Crystal Bagheri (center-left), her sister, freshman Ashley Bagheri (center-right), and her roommates, freshman Hallie Stambler (far left) and freshman Katie Kookogey (far right) toast after eating lunch.
“I kind of thought that I was missing the whole ‘freshmen experience’ by living off campus, but then I thought about how great it would be to have my own bathroom and be able to have parties, and kind of got over the whole freshmen experience thing.”
- Crystal Bagheri, freshman journalism major
On a regular weeknight, after freshman journalism major Crystal Bagheri is done with her six hours of classes and studying, she doesn’t have to deal with the typical trials and tribulations of dorm life – an annoying roommate’s loud music or an ever-vigilant Resident Assistant prying into her business.
Instead, left to her own devices in her apartment in University View, Bagheri can do whatever she wants.
“Well, it’s Monday night, and I just played [beer pong] for a couple of hours in the guy’s apartment under us,” she said. “I don’t think many freshmen in the dorms do that.”
Like Bagheri, the majority of freshmen living off the campus are members of the Freshman Connection Program, a new university initiative meant to introduce spring-admitted freshmen to campus life by offering them a variety of classes during the fall.
But with no on-campus housing assignments, these freshmen are forced to rent area apartments in the View or the Towers at University Center in Hyattsville – where the opportunities to drink and party come fast and furious every night – while freshmen in the dorms are restricted to quiet hours and sobriety.
Though the arrangement comes with numerous freedoms like private bathrooms, air conditioning and independence, students in Freshman Connection said they find themselves pigeonholed in the program, causing them to sense a disconnect with the rest of campus that leaves them feeling isolated and missing the “true college experience.”
Introduced by university President Dan Mote to the Maryland General Assembly in February, “The Freshman Connection Program makes spring admission attractive to potential enrollees by providing them personal counseling and opportunities to accelerate their program,” he said. Currently, 373 students are enrolled in the program, said program director Chuck Wilson.
Without housing from Resident Life, the majority of freshmen participants now live nearby in apartments. While the Towers set aside two floors specifically for Freshman Connection students, the View does not have a similar system, students said.
Unlike dorm life, the experience at the View and the Towers can be more along the lines of Animal House, said Bagheri.
“At first I kind of thought that I was missing the whole ‘freshmen experience’ by living off campus,” she said. “But then I thought about how great it would be to have my own bathroom, and be able to have parties, and kind of got over the whole freshmen experience thing. … Here, we easily walk to someone’s room to pregame before going out, something that isn’t as easy at the dorms.”
The ease of off-campus living is exacerbated by the lack of authority, multiple students said. Although both the View and the Towers hire Community Assistant-like figures, they rarely bother students, freshmen said.
“They are there more if you need help, I think, than to watch you like a hawk,” Bagheri said.
Chelsea Woizesko, a freshman letters and sciences major, agreed.
“We can do pretty much what we want as long as we don’t make too much noise, because the cops will come – and [they] come almost every weekend, but usually for other people’s rooms, not Freshman Connection students,” she said.
But despite the never-ending partying, living off the campus drastically cuts down on community building, causing some students to feel alone and isolated, said Jessica Sprague, a freshman education and journalism double major. While other freshmen also room together by program – such as Scholars, Gemstone and Civicus – their on-campus status allows them to interact with whomever they want, whenever they want, students said.
“Living off campus as a freshman – while it has the freedom associated with not having an RA – is very limiting in terms of meeting and getting to know your peers,” she explained. “Dorm-style living, especially with other freshmen, forces students to interact on a daily basis because of the bathroom situation, bedroom setup, etc. Unlike the dorms, you can’t just leave your door open for random people to stop by and say ‘hi.'”
Freshman Philip DiMola, a government and politics major, agreed with Sprague. Although DiMola was first drawn to the Towers because of its personal gym, rooftop pool and gaming room, he now regrets his decision, even though “Thursday through Saturday nights are always lots of fun,” he admitted.
“At first, I thought it would be cool to have my own apartment with my own room and bathroom, but now that I’m actually living here, all I want to do is live on campus,” DiMola said.
Woizesko also complained about the late class hours for the Freshman Connection program. While freshmen living on the campus can take classes all day, students in Freshman Connection can only take classes with each other from 3 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. each day, she explained. Because of this, many students feel forcibly cut off from the rest of the student body.
“I feel as if I am missing out on feeling a part of the community,” Woizesko said. “I will talk to friends who tell me about just walking outside and playing soccer or football right outside their dorms, and we can’t do that here. If I walked outside, I’d be in the Target parking lot. If I did not have people I knew already on campus, I sincerely doubt I would meet any new people outside Freshman Connection.”
Although Wilson would not say if students have come to him with complaints about feeling unconnected to the campus, he did say that he has spoken to “a lot of students” who want to leave the apartments.
“There are students who have indicated a desire to move onto campus, but you know that some might prefer to live off campus because the amenities are different,” he said. “So it’s really going to be a personal choice.”
Currently, the Towers offers shuttles to the university from early in the morning until 2 a.m. and added a Saturday shuttle on Sept. 16. But it still isn’t enough to make Freshman Connection students feel like they belong, said Jen Tomsey, a letters and sciences major.
“It is obvious that the Towers and the University of Maryland is doing everything they can to make us part of the campus, but nothing will replace dorming and getting the experience of living on campus,” she said.
Contact reporter Roxana Hadadi at roxanadbk@gmail.com.