LIVING with a roommate or suitemates that you don't know well can often be a challenge due to conflicting personal preferences. Though the University Housing Division in most instances does an admirable job in making roommate matches, taking into consideration such factors as desired sleeping schedules and noise preferences, it pays considerably less attention to students' alcohol consumption and smoking habits.
Although the consumption of alcohol and tobacco does not present a problem for many, it can make living situations difficult for students who are randomly matched and do not know their roommates or suitemates, and are therefore unaware of their habits.
Strong objections to alcohol or cigarettes may create disputes and lead to an unhealthy living environment, and thus students' preferences should be taken into account seriously. The importance of the issue demands that the University institute a substance-free housing option for students who desire it.
This problem affects first-year students living in the McCormick and Alderman Road Residence areas least. Because the majority of first years are under the age of twenty-one, these dormitories are effectively rendered substance free with regard to alcohol. However, the University Housing Division currently offers no substance-free housing opportunities for Upperclassmen, transfer students, and first years not living in first-year dorms. Smoking is currently permitted in all dorms, though Student Council passed a resolution this year seeking to ban it in the future.
There have been several attempts in the past few years to bring substance-free housing to the University, though these efforts have not yet succeeded. Noting that substance-free options are available at many other universities, the University's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Team (ADAPT) has taken charge of the most recent effort to establish a "Wellness House" at the University.
We are currently the only school in the Atlantic Coast Conference that does not provide students with an on-campus substance-free option. John Evans, the Director of Accommodations, has been working alongside Susan Bruce, director of the University's Center for Alcohol and Substance Education (CASE), and ADAPT in the latest initiative.
While University Housing is willing to discuss any student initiatives, the most difficult part is often convincing the administration that a true demand exists. This has not been the case for ADAPT; in 2001 thousands of students signed a petition asking for the topic of wellness housing to be discussed. More recently, the results of the University's 2003 Health and Behavior Survey indicated that roughly eight to nine percent of University students would prefer residence halls in which students would choose not to get drunk or smoke. At a school as large as the University, this is a substantial number -- more than 1500 undergraduates.
Why has the effort failed in the past? According to ADAPT President Alexandra Edwards, a fourth-year student, "The reason wellness housing has been so daunting is that it is hard to coordinate all of the departments that work on housing." Further, Edwards indicated that the Housing office is not usually responsive to "special interest" needs of first-year students because the University's housing philosophy tends to focus on diversifying students' living experiences.
As for the benefits of wellness housing, they are numerous. In Edwards' view, "It will give students who choose not to drink a community of others who are making the same decisions." One such benefit would be to the University's image, as outlined in the proposal: "The University risks a great opportunity to vastly improve its image in the eyes of the public, particularly prospective students, in its failure to institute this type of housing option."
The costs associated with implementing substance-free housing are minimal. In effect, the acceptance of ADAPT's Wellness House Proposal would decrease the complaint load that currently weighs on the Housing staff, benefiting students and administrators. Because students choosing substance-free housing are making a conscientious decision, there is little chance that they will renege mid-year and require a room change.
Opponents to the wellness housing initiative may cite the ability of students to request single rooms if they do not know of a roommate that they would prefer to live with. But this argument denies students making the choice not to use alcohol or tobacco products the ability to live in the type of community that they desire. Even in a single, disruptions from hallmates or suitemates who drink are not prevented.
Rather than dissuading students who wish to live in a substance-free environment from living on-Grounds, which the current system does, the University should intensify its efforts to bring a wellness housing option to students.
Todd Rosenbaum's column appears Thursdays in the Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at trosenbaum@cavalierdaily.com.
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