My peers are often in a rush to be independent by moving off campus. However, when people hear that I will be living on campus for my fifth and final year at Cal State East Bay, they’re completely baffled.

I have often been told that I should go to work so I can pay rent like an adult, or that I am getting too old to live on campus, but I’m only 21. I didn’t know there was an age limit!

Within my last four years as a resident of Pioneer Heights, I have gained nothing but benefits. Sure, having roommate disagreements can be annoying, and I miss being able to light candles in my room, but because of living on campus, I became well-rounded.

I have learned how to deal with a plethora of personality types, met different people, made amazing memories and learned so much about our campus.

One of the complaints mentioned by ear is the quality of the Dining Commons food. One of the convenient features about Pioneer Heights is that students can voice their opinions to the Residence Hall Association, which is a “student run organization that serves as the voice for the residents. Listening to resident concerns about the community RHA tries to accommodate every need,” according to Karina Flores, vice president of communications for RHA.

Flores said that residents complained about the lack of vegan/vegetarian options they offered. RHA usually sends out surveys or talks to the residents about the Dining Commons and changes, which they would like to see.

I personally have noticed the improvement in the DC, especially with their vegetarian options — there are more than I have seen since my freshman year.

It’s common for Pioneer Heights residents to move off campus because of housing being too expensive. That is one of the main factors for 5-year biology student, Leilani Camarillo, who moved out of the dorms after her sophomore year. “It’s so much cheaper off campus and more freedom,” she explained.

        Living off campus may be cheaper for people; after all, I am pulling out loans to help pay for housing. But I think it is relatively affordable compared to other universities. According to University of California, Berkeley’s newspaper, The Daily Californian, in 2015, UC Berkeley was ranked as the nation’s most expensive on campus housing at the price of $15,438.

        The most expensive dorm at CSUEB are the freshman dorms, which cost $13,164 per year, but after the freshman dorms, you can choose to live at other lesser cost dorms, the cheapest being a triple dorm which cost $8,472 per year.

        It’s also convenient for me to live on campus simply because I am from Southern California. People like alumni Divya Hari, who lived on campus for three years because of the convenience, said, “Staying on campus was a lot easier to get to my classes on time and it was easy for me to do everything with no hassle. But commuting was a little bit hassle because driving from where I live in San Jose to Hayward, was a big commute but I was able to handle both with ease. I was commuting a lot during my last quarter at CSUEB and sometimes during the summer quarter when I did not live in the dorms.”

Living on campus and paying for housing may be pricey for some people, but I think it’s better to avoid the hassle of making sure your roommates pay their rent on time. When you have roommate disagreements while living off campus, there is no Residents Assistant to help you solve your problems and you can’t simply request a room change if all goes wrong. On campus housing has been nothing but a great and convenient experience for me and I recommend that students to take advantage of it when they can.