With outdoor basketball courts, sand volleyball, relaxing hot tubs and refreshing pools, it is easy to think of a resort location. However, this is no place to vacation, rather an off-campus home for some MSU students.
A recent New York Times article that off-campus housing provides many amenities, some that may interfere with an efficient academic and learning environment. In an effort to draw students off campus, some housing corporations are providing amenities that create their own communities, especially in the case of East Lansing’s Chandler Crossings.
“Living on campus is its own community,” said Chandler Crossing’s Regional Marketing Manager Samantha Le. “However, we have our own community without sacrificing people studying and celebrating at the same times.”
Chandler Crossings will have four sites this coming fall, all of which are located about two-and-a-half miles north of MSU’s campus. The Landings, The Club, The Village and The Cottages each offer different styles of community, however they all have access to the amenities, including indoor and outdoor pools, indoor and outdoor basketball courts, free tanning, a newly renovated fitness center and sand volleyball courts.
Le indicated Chandler Crossings isn’t all fun and games, also offering quiet places for studying and specific units designated for law or graduate students.
“We lease out to everyone who is eligible, but the vast majority of our customers are students,” Le said.
However it is difficult for off-campus housing to provide the level of academic support that on-campus living offers.
“The engagement center that was added recently has really been a boost to studying, and has helped students focus on academics,” said Parker Banas, a resident mentor in McDonel Hall.
Banas, a kinesiology senior, said it may take time for students to adjust to living off campus as well.
“Many freshman live on campus their first year, and when they move off campus they struggle to adapt with the distance to campus and the different distractions that aren’t around campus,” Banas said.
Chemistry junior Ashten Lindeman acknowledged there are difficulties living off campus, but there are benefits as well. Lindeman used to live in Akers Hall, but currently resides in The Village at Chandler Crossings.
“Buses are annoying during the school year because they aren’t always on time,” Lindeman said. “But you can study on the 20-minute bus ride.”
There’s also a difference between the people that live off campus, because not all of your neighbors are MSU students — some are Lansing Community College or Douglas J. Aveda students, which results in a little more relaxed and laid-back atmosphere, Lindeman said.
There may be a lot of distractions, and a more laid-back attitude, however that doesn’t mean work doesn’t get done off campus.
“When it comes down to it, I can definitely study and do work,” Lindeman said. “I have space to get stuff done.”
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