College life is true freedom : whitepeopletwitter

[–] dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world 127 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (5 children)

There was so much to campus life that just felt natural and just ridiculously, offensively, convenient.

Practically everyone is roughly the same age as you, and that group is thousands strong (depends on where you go).
Just drop in on dorm rooms and say 'hi' to friends, whenever.
Dining is usually very close by.
Lots of entertainment options, most days of the week.
Included access to showers and fitness facilities (varies).
Free bus travel with student ID (varies).
Student ID discounts at some retail (varies).

The fact that we refuse to build communities outside of school with these features, just boggles the mind.

I'll add that this is practically impossible to replicate in adult life until you get into a "retirement community". And like college, those are ridiculously expensive too. If you're an undergrad and barely old enough to drink: I urge you to please live these days to the fullest. It's tragic but you really won't get another moment like this again.

[–] The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world 46 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Dating too. You'll never have a group of so many single people the same age as you again, and college selects for people with similar life experiences and goals.

If there was one piece of advice I could give to young adults in school, it would be to not be afraid to start thinking long-term. There are lots of adults who graduate and get stuck in the work/home/sleep cycle for years, then wish they had prioritized this before it got more difficult.

[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 12 points 3 weeks ago

Exactly. I met my SO at college, and we got married before finishing school. It was so much better having a reliable roommate who was up for... breaks... to get through the tough parts of the school year.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago

Ok but also as an adult, don’t let yourself get into that cycle. Find reasons to get out of the house and meet new people. Even when you’re married. I’ve seen so many adults let themselves become isolated because it’s easy, but ensuring you have hobbies that get you out of the house and talking to people is so valuable

[–] TheDoozer@lemmy.world 24 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

I'll add that this is practically impossible to replicate in adult life until you get into a "retirement community".

Small disagreement (that shows how possible it is if effort was made to make it happen): I'm in the military, live in military housing (sizes of which are largely based on family size, up to a certain point... 3 bedroom for my wife, 2 kids and me, but 4 bedroom for the families with 6 goddamn kids omigod I can't imagine), walk to work and the galley (cafeteria-type place for meals, including for dependents), am surrounded by families with similar lifestyles and kids, have two workout spaces on base (as well as access to off-base gyms and pool through my work), and am a short walk to downtown with plenty of entertainment (and most decent sized military bases have similar situations on base itself).

So it's possible, you just have to sign your body and will away. Or, like, convince a developer to make a civilian equivalent you can just buy into, like an uber-HOA.

[–] AbsoluteChicagoDog@lemm.ee 21 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

The military is literally a socialist meritocracy and for some reason people insist we can't have socialism in the US

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 11 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Socialism is the workers owning the means of production.

Professional national armies are the government doing things, how collectivist that is depends on the government.

Even the Soviet Red Army while it was fighting Nazis wasn't "socialist" except in the sense that it was, in theory, defending the rights of the workers.

[–] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 9 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I wouldn’t really call it socialist because it’s not self-funding. The 99% of non-military people put a huuuuuuuge amount of money into the military community to fund its creation and existence.

[–] TexasDrunk@lemmy.world 8 points 3 weeks ago

I wouldn't necessarily call it a meritocracy either because it's way easier to buy your way into being an officer than any E-to-O program and because who gets promoted in a difficult rate can get very political very quickly.

So it's neither of those things.

[–] Pickle_Jr@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 3 weeks ago

Outside of the age thing, those points all still ring true for many cities that did not buy into the whole carbrain thing.

Under the guise of the "freedom" cars being, they have taken away community, third places, affordable housing and infrastructure, and my more things just for the sake of making everywhere accessible via car.

[–] Anticorp@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

The guy from WeWork (Adam something) tried to do that and was basically laughed off the stage.

[–] dragonfucker@lemmy.nz 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Maybe he should have tried doing it good, then

[–] Anticorp@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

Ideas like these take a lot of money, and he didn't have any of his own at the time. He was a student who was looking for funding for his ideas.

[–] paraphrand@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago

There is always a kernel of truth.

[–] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

It’s important to remember that living in this kind of utopia is highly unsustainable and everyone comes out of it with heavy debt that can take half a lifetime to recover from.

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 10 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

Because they're young people who are also paying for a service. The debt has relatively little to do with the community model, you could absolutely build it around jobs or production in some fashion.

[–] dragonfucker@lemmy.nz 3 points 3 weeks ago

Drag can confirm working on a remote minesite is like this, and you also get hella paid.

On the other hand, you have to work 12 hour shifts for weeks on end and it feels like a prison.

Fuck the mining industry, but they make walkable neighbourhoods because they know it's the most efficient.

[–] ayyy@sh.itjust.works -3 points 3 weeks ago

The amount of student money that goes to professors is statistically insignificant. The rest goes to bullshit management that inevitably springs up when building a utopia.

[–] SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social 1 points 3 weeks ago

Take a look at the finances of automobile-oriented development. "Highly unsustainable" and "heavy debt" are the bywords there. As long as we're spending that kind of money, shouldn't we at least make ourselves happy?

[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 0 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Eh, I worked my way through college so I didn't have any debt at the end. I worked part-time during fall/winter semesters, and worked full-time during the summers, which was enough to not need any loans whatsoever.

I think it's still possible today, but I haven't run the numbers recently. I had a roommate that ended up with a ton of debt though because they didn't work much through college, so it was still an issue even when I went.

[–] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 6 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

This hasn’t been possible since about 2008/2010. The cost of college has more than tripled since then and wages are exactly the same.

[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Eh, wages in my area have roughly doubled since 2010-ish. My first job in school was custodial work, and that paid $7.50/hr. These days, it's pretty easy to find a job paying $12-15/hr.

Here's an estimate. I live in Utah, so I'll use University of Utah figures, which is perhaps the most expensive state school here. Assuming a Bachelor's in Computer Science and 12 credit hours per semester (anything more is nuts w/ a part-time job), fall tuition is $4500 (here's the estimator). If I assume $12/hr and 20 hours/week, that's $4k during the semester (Sept - Dec or Jan - April), and $8k during the summer. So for one year we have:

$12k income - assuming part-time during the semester and one full-time job in the summer
$9k fixed school expenses

That leaves $3k for everything else, which is probably enough if you're living at home, but certainly not enough if you're not. And then that's where Pell Grants or other forms of student aid come in, which can be as high as $6-7k/year. If you can get $7k in grant money, that's probably enough for rent, food, and housing if you have roommates and cook most meals ($833/month).

It's still tough, but I think it's doable. And I think most students can get a little better than $12/hr after tax.

[–] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I won’t touch your statement that someone can house, feed, and transport themselves while being near a university for $833/mo because it’s so patently absurd and out of touch that I don’t even know where to start.

But addressing the costs, you also forgot that tuition is not the only cost of education. The “mandatory fees” part of the calculator you provided is using weasel words and I guarantee there are more fees than the quote. Every class will have an additional lab fee, or computer access fee, or materials fee or some such that is supposedly specific to the class (but really it’s so the administration can hide the fees through complexity). You can expect to pay about $300-800/class/semester for required access to the website you use to turn your homework in (yes, this is a thing now). You can’t buy used textbooks the way you used to be able to because the edition shuffling shenanigans are 100x more intense than they were when you were in school. Also you can expect to pay hundreds per month for a parking pass because anything near transit is out of your housing budget.

[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 0 points 3 weeks ago

I don't see how it's patently absurd. A single room is about $400-500, less in the summer at universities because students tend to leave, so landlords give a special deal. When I went to school in the early 2010s, I paid ~$250 during the semester and <$100 in the summer. Tuition and rent have approximately doubled since then, so that tracks with what I'm seeing in actual classified ads here, and I spent like 30s looking in the middle of a semester. Oh, and this is the most expensive public school in the state, in the biggest city in the state (with perhaps the most expensive rent in the state), whereas the starting wages were for my area, which is way cheaper.

If we instead look at UVU, which is also a fine school, tuition is about $1k cheaper per semester, and it's about 45 min from UoU by train (and it has it's own commuter rail stop). That's $250/month cheaper.

Every class will have an additional lab fee, or computer access fee, or materials fee or some such that is supposedly specific to the class

I didn't go to UoU, but at least in my major (CS), fees were pretty rare. So maybe an extra $100-200 total, if anything, and the teachers were generally pretty good about providing the homework questions so you could save a bit buying used books. I generally spent <$300/semester on books, and many of those I could resell at the end to get $100-150 back. Even if I had to buy new books, that's still about $500/semester.

I have never heard about paying for access to a website. My university had a unified website for all school related stuff, so you'd either use that, the teacher's web page, or their email (usually a TA email for homework and whatnot). Paying anything extra was extremely rare, and probably against university policy.

hundreds per month for a parking pass

Transit is free for students, and parking at any transit stop is also free. So as long as you live close to any transit line, you can get to school. A parking pass isn't ever necessary.

UVU has a commuter line stop right next to it, and UoU has a light rail line right next to it, with connections to the commuter line. Many students just live at home, but having a shared room is also pretty affordable (I had 5 roommates until I got married).

Things have certainly changed, but I think so many people just assume you have to get loans. That was true when I went to school too, and many of those who took crazy loans also spent a ton on housing, parking passes, etc. If you look hard enough for solutions, you'll usually find them.

[–] Xanis@lemmy.world 46 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

My favorite place to nap was in the Art building. Not only was it a huge open space, literally no one would bother you. Moreover, there was always someone practicing an instrument or working on some form of music. One time before their exam I heard a girl warming up her voice and hoooooly shit there was no way she got anywhere below a 100% or however they grade. She was so good I nearly decided to go find her and express my gratitude for an amazing performance. haha

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 13 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

All of the art buildings have a certain smell too. It feels comforting.

[–] Zachariah@lemmy.world 8 points 3 weeks ago

yeah, arts can be smelly

[–] jaybone@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Is it weed?

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 4 points 3 weeks ago

There is a lot of weed, but that's usually in the alley or kind of hidden. I'm not sure if it's the oil paint or the turpentine or what. Good guess though.

[–] lemmyknow 13 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

Say, is this what's like in the US? I mean, I hear of campuses. What are those? Are colleges like small cities and people just be living in there? Maybe it's a US thing, or maybe it's just my experience, idk

[–] The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world 11 points 3 weeks ago

Many campuses are like small, sprawling towns, with various buildings dedicated to different departments, dormitories, or common areas like libraries/cafes/etc. It's like a self-contained ecosystem where you can just live there as a student and have everything you need.

[–] MNByChoice@midwest.social 9 points 3 weeks ago

Yes. Though there are colleges that are just random buildings and not on a specific piece of land.

Many with land are "land grant institutions" which were created about 100 years ago.

The only people that live on campus are usually the president and many students.

[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

It depends on the university, but somewhat. Yeah. It's a bunch of people with similar requirements all doing the same thing, and a lot of places to eat and do things. They're pretty cool from my experience. It's like a small town if everyone in the town was around the same age with similar struggles. You can trust most people and just hang out.

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 8 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

You can trust most people

Debatable. Ask a woman about it for the full story.

[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

True. I meant that no one is going to mug you or take your things. Yeah, rape isn't uncommon when people get into more private settings. Being on campus during the day is pretty safe.

[–] meowMix2525@lemm.ee 0 points 3 weeks ago

Rape isn't the only way to betray someone's trust.

[–] Rekorse@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 weeks ago

To be fair quite a lot of men dont trust men either.

[–] MJKee9@lemmy.world -1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I mean, my friends and I never raped or sexually harassed anyone in college. In fact, we looked out for everyone in our group (regardless of gender) whenever we went out drinking.

Now there was that time somebody reached behind and started rubbing my penis in line at the keg.. But the rubee was female... So, take that data point for what it's worth.

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 0 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

1: Yes yes "not all men," no shit, what's next, White Lives Matter?

2: You know what you did. What makes you so sure you know everything your friends did?

[–] MJKee9@lemmy.world 0 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

But that was op's point, which i was supporting. Perhaps read the thread again.
You can say that about anything. "How do you know your neighborhood is a nice place to live?!? What if your neighbor is a secret serial killer?!".

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 0 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Yes, now you get it! Your friends could be rapists, and, statistically speaking, if you have more than three it begins to approach certainty!

[–] MJKee9@lemmy.world -2 points 3 weeks ago

Accusations without evidence.... That's a great way to make a point that is taken seriously.

/s in case you missed it

[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 4 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Yup. I lived in on-campus housing my first year, and then I moved to off-campus housing to save some cash, but it was still walking distance to the campus (like 2 blocks). 90% of my classes were in the same chunk of land, with each building being dedicated to some specific part of the university (e.g. the math building, humanities building, music building, etc). There were a couple of buildings separate from that chunk of land, but they were also within a few blocks from the main campus.

You can get by w/o a car and can do all the shopping you need right on campus (ours had a small grocery store), and there were even fast food restaurants inside the student center building (or you can go to the cafeteria, but that was at the edge of campus), so you could eat lunch right there w/o having to return to your apartment. Some days I would go to campus at 8AM and get home at 10PM when most buildings closed for the day. Our library was right in the middle of campus, so I'd frequently go there to study between classes, because I always seemed to have an hour here or there in my schedule.

[–] Batbro@sh.itjust.works 6 points 3 weeks ago

It really do

[–] MachineFab812@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 3 weeks ago

Sadly, this is until security checks your ID, and the last University I went to had Hostile Architecture anywhere and everywhere the administration(or some student project... 🤮) could come up with the slightest(or no) excuse, indoors or out.

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