Living on campus is an experience that is much needed for many students who are away from home. It provides them with several opportunities they wouldn’t have had previously. Every campus has a population. This is essentially what makes it feel lively and open. In a place where large buildings (even on a small campus like UMPI) make up the majority of the scene, it is important to remember who it is those buildings are there for: the people who are on the campus every day. A portion of these people—about a third of the student body–is residential. Since UMPI is a smaller campus there are several people who attend who are from the area. But many of the students living in housing on and off campus through UMPI are from places very far away. Some are from downstate, and others are from even farther away, such as different states and countries altogether.
Veronica Levesque is a freshman at UMPI studying social work. She is from Waterville, which is in central Maine. It is also about 3.5 hours away from the city of Presque Isle, so she is one of those students whose best option is to live on campus. Being a resident of Park Hall she said, “It’s not hard being away from home because when I lived at home, I spent a lot of time with friends or working so I was never home anyway.” She also remarked about how she felt about living on campus, “It’s OK. I like how the RAs have all these different programs.” This fact has proven to be beneficial for a lot of students, which helps them get to know one another.
Colleen White is also a freshmen at UMPI and is an education major with a concentration in English. She is from the more northern side of central Maine in Thorndike, just outside of Unity. She is from a small town, so living in a small community isn’t much of a difference to her. That being said, she is still over three hours from home as well. When asked is if it has been difficult for her to adjust, she said, “Not really, because up here it is kind of a high school feeling (because of the small population and size of the campus). And I’m from Maine, so going home isn’t that big of a deal, because I know if I really need something someone could most likely get me there.”
Living on campus is an experience that only college could give a person. For a number of students, this is the first time they have ever been away from their families for an extended amount of time. While it may be hard for some individuals, there are still quite a few who return. The three residence buildings on campus are Merriman, Park, and Emerson. Merriman and Park are a mix of students, though they primarily have lowerclassmen. Whereas Emerson is primarily the upperclassmen dorm with a few lower classmen scattered here and there. There is also the off-campus housing of Skyway, which is mostly upperclassmen.
Living on campus also gives students the opportunity to be involved in several activities, either academically or just for the experience and good time. White is the treasurer and co-founder of the book club “Page Turners” on campus. She said, “It got me more involved with what’s happening on campus, because as treasurer I have to go around and talk to people about getting involved with the club and get a rough estimate of how many people are joining.” This is only one of the several opportunities that students are exposed to when they are on campus, but these things are not only for people who live on campus.
Living on campus helps students develop into adults by being on their own and independent while also creating a support system for them when needed. Adrien Tourtelotte, an RA in Emerson Hall said, “Living on campus tends to help students branch out socially.” They are literally often surrounded by several other people who are in the same exact boat as they are. After all, there’s no better thing than to be in a place where you’re learning and experiencing the same things that several others around you are as well. Living on campus is definitely something that makes this very possible.
