Enrollment is shooting up to unprecedented levels at Sacramento State, and another huge wave of students is expected in the near future. This creates even more competition for the already overcrowded Residence Halls on campus. We need another hall for the students who can?t fit in the dorm space that exists currently.

If not, more students, who would like to live on campus, will be pushed to apartments. Sure, many of these apartments are, in fact, cheaper than the $700 per month price that students pay for a dorm room, but that is misleading. With an apartment, the major conveniences of living in a dorm room are lost.

First of all, students living off campus have to pay for their own food, rather than live off the dining commons? food included in the $700. This is major, since food can dent a budget faster than Associated Student?s, Inc. can screw one up.

That alone would probably make living on campus cheaper if the students in the dorms used their dining commons food regularly. But it is not the only advantage of the dorms.

With the independence that apartments provide, come leases. Some students are forced to commit for a year just to get the apartment they want, if they can even find one at all. This contract keeps the students in Sacramento all summer long, whether they like or not.

Contrastly, residents in the dorms are only committed for a semester and are not paying for the space over winter or summer break. Many students at Sac State, especially freshman and sophomores, choose to go home over both of the breaks. But if the dorms are full, and students have to be put on a waiting list, which happens at Sac State, they are going to panic and find an apartment instead. This sounds reasonable. Although people do it, most people will not elect to start their college experience without a home.

This is where Sac State can help. Build the students another dorm.

The residence halls made $1.23 million more than it spent last year, total revenues were $4.6 million and total expenditures were only $3.37 million, according to figures released to The Hornet earlier this semester. Certainly this pile of money can be dipped into to provide a start for another residence hall. As for the rest of the cash, there are ways for this University to get money when it needs it. After all, when it was decided that another parking garage was a necessity, the money did not hold the University back. There is no reason that it should in this situation either.

Another building for students to live on campus is needed and should be a priority. Sac State, stop making students sign long leases and buy their own food if they would rather live in a dorm room. Make the room; build another hall. You have the money to do it. So do it.

Disagree? Argue your point withRuss Edmondson by e-mailing him at [email protected].