Literature Review
Photo by Jon S. of NS Newsflash.
This website researches residence hall life at the 14 universities of the Southeastern Conference and how the quality of life differs campus to campus with a focus on the health and safety of students.
In researching local, statewide and national publications, we have come across a variety of articles touching on students living on campus, some revealing positive aspects, and others focusing on crime, health issues and other negative aspects of student life. There are thousands of news articles that could be used to benefit the project, but for the sake of time, this brief will focus on a few in particular.
The first type of article that is of interest to the research project is a group of articles detailing mandatory on-campus living for first-year and second-year students. Because the project is on the quality of life on campus, it is interesting to find that some college students do not have any other option than to accept the conditions of living on campus if they want to attend a particular college.
On Oct. 2, 2012, a news story released by Arkansas’s ABC 7 KATV revealed that University of Arkansas at Little Rock is instating a requirement that incoming Fall 2013 Freshmen must live on campus. At this time there are nearly 13,000 students attending UALR and only about 1,000 of them live in dorms, according to the article. While there will be exceptions to the rule – if the student is over 21, chooses to live with family, is married or has a child they may choose to live elsewhere – the regulation is essentially forcing freshman to live in dormitories.
In another article, published at insidehighered.com, a similar strategy being planned by Ohio State University is revealed. This program, which will eventually require all sophomore students to live on campus (targeted to be complete by 2016,) will provide students with a financial stipend of $2,000 for completing the move.
The school has fought off allegations that they are paying students to live on campus, and Vice President of Student Life Javaune Adams-Gaston was quoted as saying, “Really what we’re doing is we’re helping students move from the first year, where they’re really learning about their environment, to the second year, when they’re really focusing on the self, their self-development.”
A majority of available articles pertaining to the research deal with past incidents on campuses and in residence halls. Many of these articles were incident reports of dormitory kitchen fires and evacuations. Others were announcements of construction projects, dedication ceremonies and new on-campus services.
One article that stood out among the articles about residence hall incidents was one published by the University of South Carolina student paper, the “Carolina Reporter,” on Dec. 4, 2007. After 18-year-old freshman Taylor Cothran fell to his death out of a fifth-floor window in one of the college’s most popular residence halls, the Capstone Residence Hall, the university faced a dilemma. How could they make their high-rise residence halls like Capstone, which is 18 stories, safer for their students?
Cothran fell after disregarding the university’s policy on living in the high-level residence halls that restricted students from placing bunk beds or other objects in front of the windows. Residence Life Director Andy Fink said the restrictions, which double as a fire‑safety measure, are now "being more strictly enforced."
On top of the policy, windows in the high rise buildings open only a few inches, unless unscrewed, which apparently is common. This article gives us insight on how the universities we are investigating handle safety concerns and hazards, and how they can be much more than a simple fix.
Another extremely insightful topic that we found in articles about several of the campuses we are researching is the topic of hazardous materials in residence halls and dormitories. These articles investigate claims of mold, lead-paint, asbestos and other hazardous substances in buildings where students live and congregate.
One article detailing with such hazards is one that was published by the Gainesville Sun in May of 2005 detailing the account of one University of Florida student’s mother outraged by the presence of asbestos in her son’s dorm room. The mother, a licensed asbestos consultant in Boca Raton, argued with experts that tested the residence halls at UF that levels of asbestos were high enough to be harmful. As revealed in the article, UF admits that some 20 percent of its buildings contain asbestos, and all but four of the residential complexes. This seems to be a common theme in the articles we have found related to health concerns of students living on the SEC campuses, in part because the majority of the buildings on the campuses were constructed decades ago.
Another article that is a good example of the presence of hazardous substances on the SEC campuses and how they are dealt with is an article that was published by the “Auburn Plainsman,” the University of Auburn’s student publication. This article details the incidence of mold found in campus residence halls and the health problems its presence can eventually bring to the students who live in them.
With testimony from a physician at the Auburn University Medical Clinic, Dr. Suzanne Graham-Hooker, this article holds great weight. Graham-Hooker describes the cotton-swabs soaked in mold that students have taken into her clinic while being seen for their allergies and the amount of students she has diagnosed with mold-induced health problems over the years in this telling article.
However, not all of the information revealed in articles relating to SEC residence halls and dormitories was negative. For instance, we found in 2007 the University of Florida made strides in allowing portable air conditioning units in the only two residence halls on campus without central air.
Some of these articles show the benefits of living in dorms, and some show the consequences. Other articles are a sign of changes in residence hall living, a look towards the future of campus life in general and specifically at SEC campuses. And other articles provide us with a snapshot of incidents and crimes that happened in residence halls in the past, and what kind of action was taken to prevent these incidents from happening in the future.
Sources
"Fall 2013 Freshmen Required to Live on UALR Campus." KATV - Breaking News, Weather and Razorback SportsFall 2013 Freshmen Required to Live on UALR Campus. ABC KATV, 2 Oct. 2012. Web. 5 Oct. 2012. <http://www.katv.com/story/19709403/fall-2013-freshmen-required-to-live-on-ualr-campus>.
Grasgreen, Allie. "Paid to Live on Campus." Ohio State Sophomores to Live on Campus in Ambitious Retention and Engagement Initiative | Inside Higher Ed. Inside Higher Ed, 2 Oct. 2012. Web. 5 Oct. 2012. <http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/10/02/ohio-state-sophomores-live-campus-ambitious-retention-and-engagement-initiative>
Harvey, Chelsea. "The Auburn Plainsman - Mold Allergies Wreak Havoc." The Auburn Plainsman - Mold Allergies Wreak Havoc. The Auburn Plainsman, 2010. Web. 5 Oct. 2012. <http://www.theplainsman.com/view/full_story/9612250/article-Mold-allergies-wreak-havoc>.
Brugger, Zoe. "Mites Infest Dorm Room in Yulee Hall." Mites Infest Dorm Room in Yulee Hall. The Gainesville Sun, 17 Oct. 2006. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. <http://www.gainesville.com/article/20061017/LOCAL/210170352?tc=ar>.
Benning, Tom. "USC Tightens Dorm Policies after Fatal Fall." USC Tightens Dorm Policies after Fatal Fall. The University of South Carolina "Carolina Reporter", 4 Dec. 2007. Web. 5 Oct. 2012. <http://www.datelinecarolina.org/Global/story.asp?S=7449321>.
Young Sikes, Janine. "Harmful Housing?" Harmful Housing? The Gainesville Sun, 11 May 2005. Web. 5 Oct. 2012. <http://www.gainesville.com/article/20050511/LOCAL/205110333?p=1>.
Stripling, Jack. "Dorm Residents Are Beating the Heat." Dorm Residents Are Beating the Heat. The Gainesville Sun, 24 Aug. 2007. Web. 5 Oct. 2012. <http://www.gainesville.com/article/20070824/NEWS/708240331?p=2>.
In researching local, statewide and national publications, we have come across a variety of articles touching on students living on campus, some revealing positive aspects, and others focusing on crime, health issues and other negative aspects of student life. There are thousands of news articles that could be used to benefit the project, but for the sake of time, this brief will focus on a few in particular.
The first type of article that is of interest to the research project is a group of articles detailing mandatory on-campus living for first-year and second-year students. Because the project is on the quality of life on campus, it is interesting to find that some college students do not have any other option than to accept the conditions of living on campus if they want to attend a particular college.
On Oct. 2, 2012, a news story released by Arkansas’s ABC 7 KATV revealed that University of Arkansas at Little Rock is instating a requirement that incoming Fall 2013 Freshmen must live on campus. At this time there are nearly 13,000 students attending UALR and only about 1,000 of them live in dorms, according to the article. While there will be exceptions to the rule – if the student is over 21, chooses to live with family, is married or has a child they may choose to live elsewhere – the regulation is essentially forcing freshman to live in dormitories.
In another article, published at insidehighered.com, a similar strategy being planned by Ohio State University is revealed. This program, which will eventually require all sophomore students to live on campus (targeted to be complete by 2016,) will provide students with a financial stipend of $2,000 for completing the move.
The school has fought off allegations that they are paying students to live on campus, and Vice President of Student Life Javaune Adams-Gaston was quoted as saying, “Really what we’re doing is we’re helping students move from the first year, where they’re really learning about their environment, to the second year, when they’re really focusing on the self, their self-development.”
A majority of available articles pertaining to the research deal with past incidents on campuses and in residence halls. Many of these articles were incident reports of dormitory kitchen fires and evacuations. Others were announcements of construction projects, dedication ceremonies and new on-campus services.
One article that stood out among the articles about residence hall incidents was one published by the University of South Carolina student paper, the “Carolina Reporter,” on Dec. 4, 2007. After 18-year-old freshman Taylor Cothran fell to his death out of a fifth-floor window in one of the college’s most popular residence halls, the Capstone Residence Hall, the university faced a dilemma. How could they make their high-rise residence halls like Capstone, which is 18 stories, safer for their students?
Cothran fell after disregarding the university’s policy on living in the high-level residence halls that restricted students from placing bunk beds or other objects in front of the windows. Residence Life Director Andy Fink said the restrictions, which double as a fire‑safety measure, are now "being more strictly enforced."
On top of the policy, windows in the high rise buildings open only a few inches, unless unscrewed, which apparently is common. This article gives us insight on how the universities we are investigating handle safety concerns and hazards, and how they can be much more than a simple fix.
Another extremely insightful topic that we found in articles about several of the campuses we are researching is the topic of hazardous materials in residence halls and dormitories. These articles investigate claims of mold, lead-paint, asbestos and other hazardous substances in buildings where students live and congregate.
One article detailing with such hazards is one that was published by the Gainesville Sun in May of 2005 detailing the account of one University of Florida student’s mother outraged by the presence of asbestos in her son’s dorm room. The mother, a licensed asbestos consultant in Boca Raton, argued with experts that tested the residence halls at UF that levels of asbestos were high enough to be harmful. As revealed in the article, UF admits that some 20 percent of its buildings contain asbestos, and all but four of the residential complexes. This seems to be a common theme in the articles we have found related to health concerns of students living on the SEC campuses, in part because the majority of the buildings on the campuses were constructed decades ago.
Another article that is a good example of the presence of hazardous substances on the SEC campuses and how they are dealt with is an article that was published by the “Auburn Plainsman,” the University of Auburn’s student publication. This article details the incidence of mold found in campus residence halls and the health problems its presence can eventually bring to the students who live in them.
With testimony from a physician at the Auburn University Medical Clinic, Dr. Suzanne Graham-Hooker, this article holds great weight. Graham-Hooker describes the cotton-swabs soaked in mold that students have taken into her clinic while being seen for their allergies and the amount of students she has diagnosed with mold-induced health problems over the years in this telling article.
However, not all of the information revealed in articles relating to SEC residence halls and dormitories was negative. For instance, we found in 2007 the University of Florida made strides in allowing portable air conditioning units in the only two residence halls on campus without central air.
Some of these articles show the benefits of living in dorms, and some show the consequences. Other articles are a sign of changes in residence hall living, a look towards the future of campus life in general and specifically at SEC campuses. And other articles provide us with a snapshot of incidents and crimes that happened in residence halls in the past, and what kind of action was taken to prevent these incidents from happening in the future.
Sources
"Fall 2013 Freshmen Required to Live on UALR Campus." KATV - Breaking News, Weather and Razorback SportsFall 2013 Freshmen Required to Live on UALR Campus. ABC KATV, 2 Oct. 2012. Web. 5 Oct. 2012. <http://www.katv.com/story/19709403/fall-2013-freshmen-required-to-live-on-ualr-campus>.
Grasgreen, Allie. "Paid to Live on Campus." Ohio State Sophomores to Live on Campus in Ambitious Retention and Engagement Initiative | Inside Higher Ed. Inside Higher Ed, 2 Oct. 2012. Web. 5 Oct. 2012. <http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/10/02/ohio-state-sophomores-live-campus-ambitious-retention-and-engagement-initiative>
Harvey, Chelsea. "The Auburn Plainsman - Mold Allergies Wreak Havoc." The Auburn Plainsman - Mold Allergies Wreak Havoc. The Auburn Plainsman, 2010. Web. 5 Oct. 2012. <http://www.theplainsman.com/view/full_story/9612250/article-Mold-allergies-wreak-havoc>.
Brugger, Zoe. "Mites Infest Dorm Room in Yulee Hall." Mites Infest Dorm Room in Yulee Hall. The Gainesville Sun, 17 Oct. 2006. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. <http://www.gainesville.com/article/20061017/LOCAL/210170352?tc=ar>.
Benning, Tom. "USC Tightens Dorm Policies after Fatal Fall." USC Tightens Dorm Policies after Fatal Fall. The University of South Carolina "Carolina Reporter", 4 Dec. 2007. Web. 5 Oct. 2012. <http://www.datelinecarolina.org/Global/story.asp?S=7449321>.
Young Sikes, Janine. "Harmful Housing?" Harmful Housing? The Gainesville Sun, 11 May 2005. Web. 5 Oct. 2012. <http://www.gainesville.com/article/20050511/LOCAL/205110333?p=1>.
Stripling, Jack. "Dorm Residents Are Beating the Heat." Dorm Residents Are Beating the Heat. The Gainesville Sun, 24 Aug. 2007. Web. 5 Oct. 2012. <http://www.gainesville.com/article/20070824/NEWS/708240331?p=2>.