The Oberlin Review reported on the housing plan to diminish off-campus living Review (“Construction Begins on Woodland Street; Off-Campus Housing to be Phased Out,” The Oberlin Review, Sept 8. 2023). With the new residence hall on Woodland Street, the need for off-campus housing will diminish because there will be more dorm rooms for students. This was met with dissatisfaction from students, specifically first- and second-years, who will be affected by this change. Living off campus gives students more independence as they do not have to follow housing policies, can cook their own meals, and can even save money as rent is often lower than Oberlin’s room and board fee. However, there is another aspect of off-campus housing that students often do not consider — the loss of housing for the Oberlin community and the families who reside there. 

The Editorial Board understands the perspective of students who wish to live off-campus. Moving off-campus, especially as an upperclassman, often signifies a level of maturity and freedom that many first- and second-year students look forward to. We also understand that off-campus housing may alleviate financial or accessibility issues that are caused by living in a dorm.

Off-campus housing most often involves the renting of single-family homes and small rental buildings near campus; owners rent out homes to students as an alternative to on-campus Village Housing, which allows students to live off campus in College-owned houses and apartments. This makes it so that student off-campus housing directly intersects with affordable single-family homes that could be dedicated to lower-income families looking to move into Oberlin. Similarly, because Oberlin students often come from more well-off backgrounds, renters are inclined to raise their rent prices, making it hard for low-income community members to gain access to housing opportunities in Oberlin.

In recent years, larger incoming class sizes have caused a lack of on-campus housing. As a result, off-campus living became popular in order to take pressure off of the overcrowded dorm system. Though, as students, this decision to transition away from off-campus housing may seem like a direct contradiction to our interests, this board urges you to consider how a reduction of off-campus housing benefits the town, a space that we share with a larger Oberlin community. As temporary residents, the student body should better recognize our potential impact on the Oberlin community’s current housing  crisis. 

The lack of affordable single-family homes has been a topic of discussion for the Oberlin community for many years. In the spring of 2023, the City Council held a work session for an affordable housing proposal. This proposal was made after the affordable housing subgroups worked with a developer to design a plan to help low-income families trying to find housing within Oberlin. The affordable housing subgroup plans to build eight rent-to-own houses owned by the City to create housing outside of the homes that are also rented out to College students. In addition to this initiative, Oberlin students could help alleviate this crisis by decreasing their demand for off-campus housing, thus increasing the amount of housing opportunities for the community. 

We often forget to recognize that we are temporary visitors of Oberlin. We often prioritize our needs without acknowledging the real community in Oberlin and its issues. Many of us come from cities or areas with higher costs of living. Though the lack of affordable housing is also a problem in cities and higher populated areas, the same fate unfolds in small towns in the Midwest. Small rural towns nationwide are facing a housing crisis as home prices surge after the pandemic and are exacerbated by workers’ new ability to move out of cities to work remotely. Overall, housing prices are up by more than 30 percent in the last couple of years, with rent rising as well. This is seen in Ohio specifically, as data shows only 44 affordable and available units for every 100 extremely low-income households, leaving a significant shortage of homes. Oberlin is not spared from this issue. 

With the building of this new dorm, students should open up the conversation about how we can improve our own housing rather than look for outside sources. Village housing is an option for students to gain a similar level of independence while not increasing demand within the Oberlin housing market. Rather than putting our efforts towards bringing off-campus housing back, we should think of how we can improve the dorms and homes we currently have access to. 

As students of Oberlin, we have a responsibility to the community and their issues, as we are interconnected. By deprioritizing ourselves and remaining in on-campus housing, we can actively support the community members who reside here for much longer than four years.

Editorials are the responsibility of the Review Editorial Board — the Editors-in-Chief, Managing Editor, and Opinions Editors — and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the Review.