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Comment by vkou | Hacker News Reader

And yet, in order to finance the construction of fancy student dorms, many universities require unmarried undergraduates to live in a dorm.

Speaking as a commuter in my student years, this boggles my mind.

Of course, any concerns about cost are dismissed by the big handwave of 'well, financial aid is available...'

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I had similar requirements for school. Meals ended up costing me ~$10 per. I could get much cheaper food on my own, but that wasn't going to make the university any money.

Where I went to school the student meal plan you were required to buy costed something like $14 per meal, while they provided the same food at the university hospital for something like $4 per meal.

I agree with you, but I also think living on campus has at least one big advantage - promotes exchange of ideas and discussion with fellow students.

Think about it as Aristotle's Lyceum/Gardens ;-)

That's great for people who have the means to, but is financially devastating for people who don't.

It would be one thing to stomach if the dorms looked, and were priced to be more like army barracks, then three-star hotels.

That almost happened at my university the semester after they went big into debt for a new stadium. We're one of the last ones in the state who aren't forcing under clansmen to live in the dorms. They cited things like, "it sill save them money! It will help with inclusion! It will help their GPA!" It was bogus of course. Thankfully the students protested fairly hard and our president sided with the students.

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