It might be a coffee table, but there was no coffee to be found on it Saturday afternoon.Instead, the table at 69 W. State St. was covered in red plastic cups and empty cans of Natural Light ' typical clutter at an off campus house. We don't have the cleaning lady anymore
said Matt Burns, a resident of the eight-person house.Burns, like most juniors, is living off campus and coping with bills, bathroom cleaning and grocery shopping for the first time in his college career. Although no one keeps exact statistics on the number of students living off campus, only 418 students that weren't required to live on campus did so last year, said Pamela Drake, Ohio University's associate director of housing. That means the remainder of juniors and seniors, who total almost 8,000, either commute or live off campus, she said. Although students often complain about the dorms and the dining halls, they miss having someone to cook their food and clean their bathrooms, said Judy Piercy, OU's assistant vice president and interim director of residence life. They miss the convenience factor of everything being there for them she said.But that convenience factor is no match for the pull of a spacious house, said junior Jordan Schultheis, who lives with Burns.I couldn't take it in there anymore he said, referring to his room in Mackinnon Hall. I hated the feeling like I was about to get caught.Junior Chris Hedrick also moved out of his dorm to 91 W. State St. because of too many rules. His dad, Rob Hedrick, approved of the move but said more rules might not be so bad.Rules
what a concept
he said. Rob Hedrick said his biggest complaint with off-campus houses is the slum lords who own them. Though he thought the house on West State Street would clean up nicely, he said its smell reminded him of a brewery.That smell probably would rank relatively low on the list of dirty houses code enforcement officer Lance Allison has seen. On one occasion, he had to step over dog feces to complete an inspection.When you've got mold growing on food in the kitchen
it's time to clean
he said.A cost comparison of the dorms to off-campus houses is difficult because of the varying cost of utilities such as gas, electric and water, said Jim Hintz, director of OU's Off-Campus Living Office. He said off-campus houses range from $1,200 to $1,600 a quarter, not including utilities. A standard OU double costs $1,370 a quarter, which includes cable, Internet and utilities.
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