Dear 100 Hour Board,
There has been talk of how next year the approved off-campus housing will be limited to a two-mile radius. I was wondering why BYU would do this. I don’t see any actual good coming out of it. Rent will skyrocket, apartment complexes will be even more crowded, and I’m sure other problems will arise as well. I heard they are doing it to help us live the Honor Code, but I really don’t buy that excuse at all. Over the summer I lived 40 miles away from campus (I had to fill out that waiver), while I studied and had zero problems with the Honor Code. Now I live less than a mile away from campus and I live the Honor Code the very same way I did when I lived 40 miles away.
So, once again, what is BYU’s reasoning for limiting the approved off-campus housing to a two-mile radius?
– Bewildered and Confused
Dear Bewildered,
I’m pretty sure it has nothing to do with the Honor Code. You’re capable of living righteously whether here or in Timbuktu. Really, it has a lot more to do with common sense.
Having BYU-approved status is obviously a great selling point for complexes in Utah Valley, as BYU students usually are limited to those complexes. As a result, complexes from all over the place would love to get BYU approval.
That means BYU has to spend money to pay someone to deal with an application from, say, Benjamin, Bountiful, Brigham City or Blanding. BYU does not stand for the Boarding Yamen of Utah. (Yamen: n. The office or residence of a public official in the Chinese Empire). They didn’t want to do that, so they set some limits.
When BYU announced they would be establishing these boundaries for all off-campus housing, about 92 percent of the approved housing spaces were already within two miles. In other words, most of the students were already living within the boundaries; since the announcement that number has increased to nearly 100 percent. So, when the April 30 deadline comes, you won’t see a huge increase in crowding; you’re already pretty much there.
It should also be noted that as of winter semester, there’s a 7 to 9 percent vacancy in BYU-approved housing. Rental markets are usually considered healthy when the vacancy is at 5 percent or more. In other words, it’s a renter’s market right now. Prices aren’t going to be jumping up because of the change; there’s still plenty of space to fill. Besides, you can always submit a petition if you really want to live 40 miles away.
Somehow, life goes on.
– Yellow
