2B • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
---
STUDENTLIFE
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2003
Home,sweet apartment
Stouffer Place offers community for student families
By Sarah Weber
correspondence@kansan.com
Kansan correspondent
The KU Department of Student Housing offers students who are either married or have children the opportunity to live in housing made specifically to accommodate their lives.
Residents of Stouffer Place, 19th and Iowa streets, said the community was located close enough to the University to seem like a part of campus, yet far enough away to seem like the apartments are part of its own community.
Rosina Kalusha, El Salvador graduate student and resident of Stouffer Place, said she liked the location because it was close to her child's daycare center.
"It's very convenient to be able to drop my child off at the Hilltop Childcare Center on my way to class and then pick him up again
on my way home," Kalusha said.
Sandra Cone, Little Rock, Ark., graduate student, said the price was the other bonus of living in the apartments.
"I'm sure there's not a lot of houses or apartments around campus that offer a rent of less than $300 a month," Cone said.
Stouffer Place Apartments, 19th and Iowa streets, accommodate the University's married students and students with children.
Students with children viewed the family-oriented community as most important to their living situation.
Camisha McDaniel, Kansas City, Kan., junior, said she decided to move to the apartments because she knew the community would be filled with other families with children.
For some families, the family-oriented community turned out to be the deciding factor in choosing to live in Stouffer Place.
"I knew the apartments offered after-school activities through its community center, and I knew this involvement would allow my children to meet, communicate and play with other kids their same age," McDaniel said.
"The family housing option was one of the big reasons why we chose to attend KU," said Mark Kalusha, Rosina Kalusha's husband. "Facilities made specifically for families is not an easy option to find on all campuses."
Andy Samuelson/Kansan
Residents also said they felt the community atmosphere made them safer.
Sandra Cone said she never hears or worries about crime around her apartment and always felt safe even when she walked alone to her car at night because the environment was well lit.
"My neighbors make me feel safe because we always keep an eye out for each other," Cone said. "I always feel like my home is safe even when I go out of town for the holidays because many of
the international students stay here and act like a permanent security system."
The environment is more than just a place to feel safe and secure, it's also an environment filled with international students and diverse cultures.
Debby Ogden, Council Grove junior, said the apartment's community center always had some
type of activity planned for the children and adults to increase their awareness of different cultures.
Students who are interested in living in Stouffer Place should complete an application and send it with a $35 non-refundable application fee to the KU Department of Student Housing.
Although one-bedroom apartments are generally available
throughout the year, two-bedroom and renovated two and three-bedroom apartments usually have a waiting list that can extend from six months to more than a year.
The Department of Housing encourages students to apply early to guarantee an apartment.
- Edited by Brandon Gay and Christy Dendurent
By Maggie Newcomer correspondence@kansan.com Kansan correspondent
Maggie Mason, Ontario Canada, junior, and her six roommates rearranged their three-story house this summer to make the city inspector believe only three people lived there.
They moved beds, rearranged closets and desks because of a city ordinance stating that no more than three unrelated people can live together in neighborhoods zoned single-family.
"Our landlord told us two days before that our house would be inspected," Mason said. "We didn't know what they were looking for exactly, so we changed everything."
Andy Samuelson/Kansan
Mason's home is one of hundreds that has been inspected.
Mason said she was "not surprised" people were taking action against the ordinance.
Miller said that typically inspections occurred because of new construction or remodeling, or at the request of the tenant or landlord for code compliance.
Mason and her roommates gave consent for their home to be searched. However Chris Miller, attorney for the Citizens Rights Committee, said under the city's ordinance 7326, they don't need permission.
Miller said the inspectors would get search warrants and force their way in if tenants refuse entry.
The Citizens Rights Committee, made up of local landlords and tenants, has filed a lawsuit against the city because it disagreed with the way the inspections were being carried out, member Aaron Kirby, Los Angeles senior, said.
Kirby rents a house alone in East Lawrence.
Victor Torres, the city's director of neighborhood resources, said inspectors looked for health and sanitation-related items in homes. Items such as smoke detectors, ventilation and the proper number of exits are also on the code compliance list.
Sarah Lafferty, Lawrence senior, moved into an off-campus apartment with her cat Buckee after living in the Sunflower House Cooperative with 30 other people for two and a half years.
Kirby said he thought the real motivation behind the inspections was to get people to move out south and west to new, empty apartment complexes.
Torres said that was not the case.
"We are conducting the inspections to check for proper livability and safety of rental and single-family units," Torres said.
While Mason's landlord informed her of an impending inspection, Miller said landlords were not required to tell their tenants anything.
Kirby said the lines of communication among inspectors, landlords and tenants sometimes get crossed.
Living alone has perks, concerns
"Some people are waking up to an inspection like. What the hell are you doing in my house?" Kirby said.
— Edited by Erin Chapman
By Jason Shaad
correspondence@kansan.com
Kansan correspondent
By Jason Shaad
No fights about bills, no explaining late-night visitors, no parties keeping you awake when you have a test in the morning—these are some of the perks of living alone, according to the Off-Campus Living Resource Center.
But many people would have reservations about living alone in an apartment or residence hall.
Eva Szafranski, Chicago freshman, did not find out she would not have a roommate until a week before she moved into Oliver Hall.
"When I got here and found out that I didn't have one and was going to be living alone, I was a little disappointed," Szafranski said.
Szafranski has gained a new respect for living alone.
"It is convenient to have somewhere to study and not have to worry about being interrupted by anybody. I get to live on my own
terms and be as messy as I want," she said.
Kelly Wilder, Austin, Texas, freshman and GSP Hall resident chose to live alone.
"I like my own personal space and I am kind of anal about my living conditions," Wilder said.
But living alone does have its down sides.
"Sometimes it gets scary at night," she said. "After the rape incident earlier this year, things were kind of awkward, but I feel safe with the front door security."
Security is often an issue for those who live alone, but
Sarah Lafferty, Lawrence senior, moved into an apartment by herself after living in the Sunflower House Cooperative with 30 other people for two and a half years.
"I was kind of hesitant to be by myself, but nothing really creeps me out," Lafferty said.
Loneliness was a bigger problem for Lafferty.
"After sharing a kitchen and a bathroom with 30 people, I was ready to see what it would be like by myself," Lafferty said. "The downside is I get lonely pretty fast, but I go to Café Luna a lot to study and be with my friends."
Single-person living units tend to be more expensive than multiple occupancy residences.
According to the Off-Campus Living Resource Center, single-bedroom or studio apartments start at about $250 a month and go for as much as $500 depending on location, amenities and newness.
— Edited by Lindsay Hanson
Sans house, chapter members bond
By Sadie Martin
By Sade Martin
correspondence@kansan.com
Kansan correspondent
Fraternity and sorority chapters without a house to call home still maintain strong bonds among their members.
Unlike members of the Interfraternity Council and the Panhellenic Association,members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council live separately and have meetings on campus, like a club.
The difference in living situa
tions offered by these different chapters can be a deciding factor for those who want to join a fraternity or sorority.
“Part of the reason I chose to join Mu Sigma Upsilon was because I wouldn't have to live in a sorority house,” said Vivian Volante, Overland Park junior. “One of the benefits of being in a non-traditional sorority is that costs less. Plus, I enjoy the independence it offers.”
Even though they don't live together, communicating with her sorority sisters is not a problem for
Zeta Phi Beta member Jennifer Leong.
"We are able to communicate easier than traditional chapters because we have smaller numbers. We usually conduct chapter meetings at one of the unions or a member's residence," said Leong, St. Louis senior.
Communication is also not a problem for Sigma Lambda Beta member, Jose Interiano.
"I've never felt that our chapter is at a disadvantage just because we don't all live together," said Interiano, Wichita sophomore. "I
see the brothers from my house frequently, at least once a day. I didn't join because of the living situation. I joined because of the work we do in the community."
Leong said it was the bond between the members that make being in a sorority most enjoyable.
"Regardless of sorority members living together," Leong said, "if there isn't a bond between the members or a sense of sisterhood, then you miss the experience of being in a sorority."
- Edited by Leah Shaffer