Council considers student suggestions

By Chris Lusk, Staff Writer

A simple suggestion given to The Leadership Council evolved into a proposal for campus dorms, said Civic Engagement Coordinator Jennifer Akpabio.

“We had received a few suggestion cards that were concerning vending machines,” Akpabio said. “Students were asking for more vending machines, so we asked them where they would like for them to be.

“We wanted the students to decide,” she said. “We didn’t want to make the decision for the whole college.”

It was then, she said, that the original idea began to multiply into more ideas.

Akpabio said when the survey committee asked students for their opinions on the location for new vending machines, the idea of a new commons room arose.

“The idea of a room or area with TVs, games, couches and just a place to hang out was offered,” Akpabio said. “Then, from there, we received a lot of feedback that what the college needed was dorms.

“On-campus housing, dorms, apartments…that’s what students were asking for.”

Akpabio said although many students thought on-campus housing was not practical financially, about half of the responses they received were from students who believed it would be a good idea.

“What started out as a suggestion for more vending machines evolved into a discussion for dorms,” Akpabio said.

She said one of the loudest voices lobbying for on-campus housing came from international students.

“They [international students] have the most to gain from on-campus housing,” Akpabio said.

“Many international students have to find host families to live with, so dorms would benefit both.”

Freshman Mallory Barnes shared her experience with an international student her parents hosted.

“When I was younger, we had a foreign exchange student come and live with us,” Barnes said.

“While it was a lot of fun, it did become a burden on not only us, but also on our exchange student. She never really had a place to go and socialize with other students.

“All OCCC did was provide classes, not exactly the perfect atmosphere to meet new people.

“I think that campus dorms would promote better interaction between the students here.”

Some students across campus shared similar viewpoints.

“Even though OCCC is just a two-year college, I think that campus housing would be a great idea,” freshman Aaron Kirby said. “Since many incoming freshmen are moving out anyway, a centralized location where everyone was an OCCC student would be cool.”

English major Kari Crosswhite echoed these statements, and offered another benefit of having college dorms.

“Students would get a chance to interact with each other more than just the typical classroom dealings,” Crosswhite said.

“It would make OCCC feel more like a real college.”

Although some students voiced their support for on-campus housing, not everyone felt the same.

“Dorms would never work,” business major Alicia Vaughn said.

“There are way too many obstacles that would prevent this from ever happening.

“There isn’t any room on campus and, although we could finance some local apartment complex and have it be the ‘official OCCC apartments,’ I’m sure the college has other things to do with their money than build dorms.

“It just doesn’t make sense financially.”

Freshman Gina Shaw said that while the idea seemed to be a good one, the reality of dorms being built seemed unattainable.

“Even though there are probably a bunch of benefits to having some dorms, I can’t imagine a college of our size making that investment,” Shaw said.

“I’m sure it would be a slow process at first if we did get some sort of campus housing, but eventually it would start to pick up. There are always students looking for a new place to live, why not here?”