Volume 124 Issue 101
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
kansan.com
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THE UNIVERSITY DARLY KANSAN
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2012
PAGE 7
ROOMMATES
Living alone is preferable, some students say
TRAVIS YOUNG/KANSAN
Without the drama that comes with a roommate, living alone can be very peaceful. Living alone does come with the disadvantage of having to pay rent without the help of a roomie.
ANNA WFNNFR
awenner@kansan.com
Life with roommates can be fun, stressful, downright awful or a combination of the three. For students who choose to live alone, no roommates means no drama.
"I personally prefer it," said Taylor Leibrandt, a senior from Bird City. "I really like the fact that if you have a TV you can watch whatever you want whenever you want. You can cook whatever, you can make messes, and pick up at your own pace. You can decorate. You can have a cat if you want to. You can do all that stuff that sometimes having a room mate can make difficult."
For Leibbrandt, the positives outweigh the negatives, no matter how much it hurts his pockets.
"The only thing is it can become a little expensive at times," Leibbrandt said. "You're not splitting the rent or utilities, obviously, which can be a downfall. And also, just being by yourself a lot. If you aren't someone who can be alone all the time then sometimes you need a roommate to chat with."
Living with a roommate has its advantages as well, including saving money, having company and the convience of having someone to help with chores around the house.
Without a roommate a student must pay for full rent and utilities, spend a lot of time by
themselves, and do not have someone to rely on for tasks like feeding pets or Wichita plants. For Natalie Meyer, a senior from Wichita who lives alone, the drama of living with another person is not worth the benefits.
"I've lived by myself since August," Meyer said. "I hated my last roommate. She was a slob."
Now that she lives alone, Meyer said she likes that she does not have to plan her home-life around somebody else.
"I don't have to clean up after anyone," Meyer said. "I don't have to fight for the washing machine, I can study at home. It's quiet."
Meyer says the only disadvantages she has experienced from living alone are the added expenses.
Erin Lavin, a senior from Gardner, had a roommate who had to move out before their lease was up. Her roommate still pays half the rent, but because she got a job in Kansas City, she no longer lives in the apartment this semester.
"It was kind of a weird deal," Lavin said. "We were going to sublease but didn't find anybody in time so it didn't work out. You can't really upset your roommate. I mean, if you're messy or you want the TV to yourself that's pretty much up to you."
Lavin said that if she could manage it, she would continue living by herself even if she had to pay full rent.
"I think I probably prefer living by myself, but I don't mind living with people," Lavin said.
Like most parts of apartment life, the decision of whether or not to have a roommate must be made on an individual basis. Leibbrandt,
Meyer and Lavin all agreed that they preferred living alone because the drama was not worth the advantages living with roommates offered.
Edited by Max Lush
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that some professors and publishing companies are pushing for ebook usage and are trying to do their best to keep up. Kyle Whitley is a supervisor in the textbooks department and said the store is adjusting to the transition to digital.
"Mostly what we are doing is providing anything the instructor adopts and working with the publisher to get that in the store," Whitley said. "We have less control over what it is — a book versus an ebook — that is all dependent on the instructor who adopts it. What we are doing is trying our best to get that product in the store at a competitive price."
Hertz has designated parking spots in lots 16 and 102 on campus for its rental cars. Students, staff and faculty can rent a car for $8 per hour. Cars can be rented for as little as 15 minutes or as long as a day.
CHRIS NEAL/KANSAN
Edited by Amanda Gage
partment now offers a solution for students without cars like Reames. Last month, it introduced a car sharing program that allows cars to be rented for a minimum of 15 minutes or as long as a day.
Students had been requesting the program for years, said Margretta de Vries, administrative specialist for the department.
Interested drivers register for the Hertz
De Vries said the car sharing program would be helpful to students, staff and faculty who struggle to arrange rides for appointments or errands and might
on demand program on the company's website and must provide credit card information for future rental use, although registering
IAVON SCHAKELFORD junior from Salina
signaled spaces when drivers are done.
come as a relief for prospective students as well.
"There are a lot of students who come from far away and only bring a car because they don't think they'll be able
Javon Shackelford, a junior from Salina, was interested to hear that the program would be coming to the University right around the time he would need to start applying for internships.
STE/KANSAN in the fifth
to get to anything; said de Vries. Since the program started, 126 people have signed up for membership. In February, the cars
to get to anything," said de Vries.
have been driven for 129 hours. The department goal is for the cars to be driven around 200 hours per month, de Vries said.
He tries to use the cars strategically, renting them on weekdays when the prices are lower than the standard $8 per hour. Schakelford also evaluates whether or not he really needs the car to go somewhere or if
"I use it to go to interviews in Kansas City, which has been really helpful," Shackleford said.
Index
driving would simply be easier than walking since the rental fees can add up quickly.
CLASSIFIEDS 9
CROSSWORD 4
"If you're not careful, you can definitely drive yourself into the poor house," Schakelford said.
Edited by Bre Roach
CRYPTOQUIPS 4
OPINION 5
SPORTS 10
SUDOKU 4
ents, unless stated otherwise, © 2012 The University Daily Kansan
Today's Weather
Don't forget
Most sunny with west-
wery winds at 10-15 mph
gusting up to 20 mph.
Brazilian Week is going on now.
Brazilian movie night is tonight at Ellsworth at 7 p.m.
HI: 55
LO: 37
7
Sunny day, sweepin' the clouds away
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