With budget cuts looming nearby, it would be an absolute degradation to off-campus students to lose valuable programs through the Off-Campus and Community Services office. In the less than two years that the Community Assistant program has been in place at OU, it has quickly become nationally recognized as a trailblazer among programs of its kind. As a current CA and off-campus resident, the response I've received from fellow students has been overwhelmingly positive. Not only do we build community off-campus through social events, but we help students transition to a more independent living situation, either by informing them of not-so-obvious noise and trash laws or empowering them to demand clean and safe housing from their landlords.
Most importantly, off-campus students finally feel like the university hasn't forgotten about them once they move out of the dorms, which is as much a benefit to the students as to the university. I urge fellow students, even if you do not live off-campus yet ' please do not let this program go by the wayside. Write President McDavis and tell him that you refuse to be forgotten just because you live off-campus. I urge the administration to show off-campus students that they still have students' best interests at heart.
Please prove to us that you still value us as members of the Ohio University community by continuing to fund this program so it can continue to be one of the best in the nation.
Lauren Elliott is a junior psychology major.
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Letter to the Editor
