Students at Oswego State have several housing options other than the residence halls. These options include privately owned houses, The Village on campus, Premier Living Suites in Oswego and the most recent option, Lakeside Commons.
For first-year students, options are limited. According to the Residence Life and Housing residency requirements, first-year students must live in a residence hall for four consecutive semesters before moving off campus if they are admitted in the fall. Transfer students must stay in the residence hall for two semesters if admitted in the fall.
Oswego State offers 12 residential halls for students to live in, not including The Village. One of those buildings is a first-year-student-only building, Johnson Hall, and another is an international student building, Hart Hall.
The Village is a collection of townhouses on campus that students can choose to live in behind the west side of campus. Most of the same rules of living in residence halls, as well as perks to living on campus, apply to those living in The Village.
Residence Life and Housing offers student employment, such as resident assistants, who are students that manage a wing or section of a residence hall and assist other students, resident mentors in Johnson Hall, graduate resident mentors in Hart Hall, recycling technicians, assistant hall directors and desk attendants, who oversee the front desk in a residence hall.
For students who qualify, the options for moving out of the residence halls are plentiful. One of those options includes finding a private landlord who owns local property. While students are on their own while finding decent landlords and nice homes, the Oswego State Student Association tries to help as best they can.
Landlords can apply to be on the SA off-campus housing list, which is available on the LakerLife webpage for SA. According to the document, there are several requirements the landlord must fulfill for SA to consider them. Those requirements include: three or more units to list, a blank copy of the lease or rental agreement and a rental permit from the city of Oswego if the property is located in the city.
The list is managed by Selena Ferguson, who is the director of off-campus housing. She said the quality of the house does not determine whether the landlord is placed on the list.
“The quality of the house goes along with the rental agreement from the city that proves that it has been inspected and meets whatever their criteria is to receive that,” Ferguson said. “As long as they have that, they’ve been inspected, then they’re approved.”
Ferguson said if a house is outside of the city, then the landlord must attain an Oath and Affidavit of Compliance from Oswego County. Some of the requirements to receive the document include working smoke alarms and well-maintained interiors.
However, there have been issues between students and landlords that have not kept a decent house and have, in the past, brought their issues to SA. Ferguson remembered the story of Alyssa Lopez, who eventually became a strong advocate for students living in houses owned by, what Ferguson called, slumlords.
In the city, there are a few residential complexes that are owned by larger companies, which try to create a pleasant, safe experience for students while off campus. One such area is Lakeside Commons, owned by Newman Development Group Student Living. Lakeside Commons opened during the fall semester in 2018. Construction began in 2017-2018 school year and finished over summer.
NDG is a larger corporation that owns other establishments, but Lakeside Commons property manager Tina Moshier said the company owns several student housing buildings in the state. NDG owns Hillside Commons in Oneonta, Twin River Commons in Binghamton and Block 20 in Buffalo.
“We know a lot of people in our company that have gone to school here and are alumni, and they thought it was a great place to break ground and a great place to build student housing,” Moshier said. “They wanted to bring what they didn’t have when they were in college.”
Moshier also said the company prides itself on the amenities the company offers. Some of the add-ons, which are included in the monthly rent, are a gym membership and a private shuttle that drives students to campus and back – something that places like Premier Living Suites do not offer.
“Premier Living Suites might be great, but the luxury that we provide here is on a different level,” Moshier said. “We’re trying to have luxury housing for students that are safe and can actually enjoy their home while they’re at college.”
Despite having not been open for a whole semester, students have responded well to living at Lakeside Commons. Moshier said students noticed they were saving money by living there but said that the private shuttle has been the biggest bonus.
“It’s not cheap to run a shuttle as long as we run it every day. At the same time, Lakeside’s goal, and NDG’s Student Living’s goal, is to have safe living,” Moshier said. “The corporate company will pretty much do anything in order to make sure that happens.”
While the opportunities are few, there are employment opportunities within Lakeside Commons. NDG only hires college students to be community assistants – a position that is similar to a resident assistant in the residence halls.
“They help with the leasing. They help with students giving tours. They do some of the on-call stuff. If anything was to happen, they’re on call at night, and they all kind of switch on and off,” Moshier said. “The CAs here are what keeps us running.”
There are many options for students who want to move off campus to try to live an independent life. But students always have the option of staying on campus in order to still feel part of one giant community that is Oswego State.
For a comparison of the three, students can expect to pay roughly $4,395 for a typical dorm room in a residence hall on the Oswego State campus, whereas in The Village, a single room is $5,695 per semester. As for off-campus housing, a 10-month-lease at PLS starts at $699 per month and a room at Lakeside Commons can start at $885 and range to $10,620 a year.
Photo by Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian
