The Private Sector to Build and Finance On-Campus Dormitories.

The New York Times
By RONDA KAYSEN
Published: January 24, 2012

With state budgets tight and demand for a college education at a high point, public universities across the country are increasingly turning to the private sector to build and finance on-campus dormitories.

Even before the recession, states found that companies that specialize in student housing could build residence halls more rapidly and cheaply than universities could. They can ease the burden of being a landlord. And perhaps most important, these partnerships free capital for facilities like classrooms and laboratories.

But as bad economic times make these arrangements even more appealing, the new efforts raise questions about how private ownership of dorms will affect student life and costs in years to come.

Public universities that have entered into or are considering such partnerships include the University of California, Irvine; Arizona State; Portland State; the University of Kentucky; and Montclair State in New Jersey, which in the fall opened the Heights, a two-tower complex with 2,000 beds and a 24,000-square-foot food court that officials say is the largest residence hall complex in the state. Read More

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Ron Denaro is the president of College Campus Trips, a tour company providing high school students with tours of college campuses, nationwide. For more information, call (954) 567-5751 or e-mail: ron@collegecampustrips.com

What does your dorm room say about you?

USA TODAY College

by Amanda Zuckerman, Washington University, Pi Beta Phi

Designing your dorm room is important because it is all about YOU. For the first time, you’re solely responsible for creating your own unique sense of home in your living space. You meet so many new people in college, and whether you like it or not, their first impression of you might be based on your dorm room.

With this in mind, I decorated my room in a way that expresses who I am—stylish, but not girly. Eclectic but not radically. And, of course, social and outgoing.

I love that when someone walks into my room, I don’t even need to introduce myself—my walls do it for me. As soon as I got to school, I hung five Dormify posters that spell out “MANDZ” (my nickname). Immediately, they made the space more lively and creative. Dormify posters definitely add character to a room and the way you arrange them is a great channel for self-expression. Spell your name, hang up your sorority letters, or spell a word like F-U-N to convey who you are and what you are all about.
Read More

I'm Ron Denaro and thanks for joining College Campus Chatter today!

Ron Denaro is the president of College Campus Trips, a tour company providing high school students with tours of college campuses, nationwide. For more information, call (954) 567-5751 or e-mail: ron@collegecampustrips.com