I don’t live on campus and don’t have Temple housing. But the university’s decision to exclude juniors and seniors from on-campus housing still affects me. That is because I pay rent for an apartment at Presidential City.
When Temple gets rid of housing, they will also be taking away the shuttles that I use to get to school every day along with hundreds of other of City Avenue and Art Museum-area students who chose to live here especially because of the shuttles.
When I found out about the housing cut, nothing was mentioned about shuttles. Presidential wasn’t even notified. I didn’t know that there would be housing meetings or housing fairs held for people to find a new place to live, even though I was one of them. Commuters already feel left out, and cutting off all upperclassmen only creates more distance between the administration and students.
There are hundreds of students that live in and around Presidential City that use the shuttles daily. It doesn’t compare to the thousands put out of a place to live next year, but apparently Temple is determined to leave no student satisfied with their experience at the university.
During my first year at Presidential City, I lived through Temple as a transfer student. Then I found out that it would be cheaper to lease an apartment through the complex for 12 months instead of paying room and board for nine. I knowingly could have moved into the city for much less, but the convenience and familiarity of the shuttle kept me there.
Presidential City is located on City Ave, which is convenient for a number of reasons, but not for public transportation. This means that my roommates and I have to look for a new apartment with an easier way to get to public transportation, along with the rest of the students made homeless by Temple.
Like every other rider, I have complained about the shuttles at one time. It was deserved, too. Shuttles have an inconvenient schedule, it’s a fight to the death to get a seat on one in the morning, they are inconsistent with rules about standing, and don’t take complaints seriously. But one factor that outweighs all others – it is free.
Temple doesn’t want students living on campus but are also taking away all of the options of getting there. They are announcing taking away a popular shuttle route, while at the same time they recently sent out an e-mail detailing parking problems in the neighborhoods surrounding the university.
If we’re not supposed to drive and we can’t take the shuttle, there is only one option left, SEPTA. Thanks to SEPTA routes, this is impossible. Well not impossible, but students in my area are left with the lone option of multiple bus transfers to a train. Getting on campus will only be more difficult too, thanks to the new housing regulations.
Just like myself, the staff of Presidential City wasn’t alerted to the decision, and I can imagine that they’re not happy. Temple students make up a large chunk of their residents and since breaking the lease requires 90 days written notice, I can’t imagine them being too happy about this.
Marea Kasten can be reached at Mkasten@temple.edu.
Be the first to comment