This gastronomic Bloomington project is aimed at
understanding the differences between dorm, sorority, and off-campus living, in
terms of food. During the last year of
high school, students ponder which college campus will be best suited for them,
and for some, food plays a large role in this decision making. Here at Indiana University, and in the city
of Bloomington, some of the best restaurants and food are available. Food ranges from very ethnic to local,
expensive to inexpensive. Living in a
dorm brings many advantages: easy access to food anytime day or night, as well
as cheap prices. Sorority living brings
the comfort of home, surrounded by Greek “family,” and good food served at
three regular meals a day. Last, but not
least, comes off campus living. Off
campus living is the closest thing to real life that a college student can
get. Writing grocery lists, maintaining
a healthy diet, and trying to find time to cook between classes and studying, without
breaking the bank are all challenges faced by off-campus students. In addition, this project attempts to understand
the key differences between dorm, sorority, and off-campus eating in
Bloomington, in terms of cost, efficiency, ease, and other key issues. In addition, how the cost of living and
eating in a dorm, sorority, and off campus influences people’s decisions about
which housing lifestyle they will pursue, will also be discussed.
Dorm Living
A great amount of students take the food scene into consideration when choosing which college they will attend. In a WeAreIU blog post, Alyssa Andrews takes aim at the future freshman. This is a comprehensive compilation of each of the dorm "neighborhoods" - Northwest, Southeast, and Central.
Map of dorm neighborhoods
In the Northwest neighborhood - Briscoe, Foster, Collins, and McNutt - this blogger describes this area as "party central." In particular, the Hoosier Den at Gresham dining hall is the place for college kids in the wee hours of the night to go and eat. Northwest is also the place for most athletes, it's closest to the sports complexes. In the Southeast neighborhood - a place for music students and music junkies, including mostly apartment complexes - there are some of the best places to eat on campus, right near 3rd Street. Their buffets and bistro are, according to Alyssa, pretty amazing! Lastly, the Central neighborhood (Ashton, Eigemann, Teter, and Wright), is in a prime location on campus, nearby to lots of food joints - Pizza X, Subway, Red Mango, Fortune Cookie, and more. However, each dorm has their own things to offer - hangout spots, places to eat, and dining halls.
In another blog post on WeAreIU, by Leila Palizi, she describes dorm life, and eating, as a "24/7 sleepover. There's always someone to go to the court to grab a bite to eat with, someone to walk to class with, and someone to stay up late studying with." Also, which I found particularly true and also interesting, that if she says if you haven't ordered pizza past midnight, you haven't enjoyed the IU freshman experience. This is so true! If you haven't ordered, or eaten dinner past midnight in your college experience, no matter what year, you haven't experienced college!
In another blog post on WeAreIU, by Leila Palizi, she describes dorm life, and eating, as a "24/7 sleepover. There's always someone to go to the court to grab a bite to eat with, someone to walk to class with, and someone to stay up late studying with." Also, which I found particularly true and also interesting, that if she says if you haven't ordered pizza past midnight, you haven't enjoyed the IU freshman experience. This is so true! If you haven't ordered, or eaten dinner past midnight in your college experience, no matter what year, you haven't experienced college!
Another thing to consider about dorm living are the C-STORE's. The C-STORE is usually one of the favorite things about the dorm experience. You can get pretty much anything here, it's like a mini Wal-Mart - candy, frozen food, ramen, pop, gum, cereal, toiletries, and other necessities. The perk to living, and eating, in a dorm is the fact that you can use your I-BUCKS to pay for everything. Although you pay (or your parents!) for the I-BUCKS in your tuition, students typically get about $3,000 to use for a whole semester. This is a bonus, because as college students, we are notoriously poor, which is probably why Kevin King, of WeAreIU, states the four essential dorm foods to be: beef jerky, granola bars, Uncle Ben's rice pouches, and popcorn. To me, these are odd choices for the essential dorm foods, but to each their own!
On the IU Residential Programs and Services webpage, it describes the two types of meal plans - Cream and Crimson - and their costs. The Cream plan is for students, ranging in cost from $2,400-$4,000, whereas the Crimson plan is only for faculty and staff, from $250-$500. This website offers a great deal of information, the dining map, menus and hours, nutritional information, meal planner, and much more.
Campus Dining Map (RPS)
While half of US college students factor food into where to attend college, the Board of Trustees of Indiana University have approved a $22 million project for new a on-campus dining hall, a 50,000 square foot, 700 seat dining space in Forest Hall, with seven dining "venues"(each with a different type of cuisine), a coffee shop, and a "grab and go" convenience store. Rachel Warner, a marketing director at the National Association of College and University Food Services, says that "Schools are just trying to provide an experience which students want."
While all of the above information on dorm living and eating is tried and true, nothing compares to true student testimonials. One IU student, Kathryn Johnson, lived in Foster dormitory her freshman year. Her typical meal consisted of - a sandwich, bag of chips, piece of fruit, and a soda. Now, this is a pretty balanced meal for a college student, however, her favorite thing to have were the giant cookies, so she says "mmmmm!" From another IU student, Jacob Mossburg, who lived in McNutt his freshman year, his favorite food were the Twinkies. Now, we could go into a discussion about gendered appetites here, but we won't. Both students cited convenience and variety as their favorite part of dorm living. Kathyrn stated, "A ready cooked meal was waiting at all hours in the dining hall."
Sorority Living
As IU's website states, Indiana University is home to one of the largest and oldest Greek systems in the country! Roughly 17% of incoming, and current, IU students participate in a Greek organization. In the Greek system, in sororities especially, students have the chance to build a support system, friendships, and participate in social and philanthropic activities. With 31 sororities on the IU campus, I have chosen to focus on the Kappa Delta sorority in particular.
Kappa Delta sorority house
Kappa Delta sorority dining hall
The four key rules I learned about living in a sorority when doing research for this project are the following:
1. Buy yourself a pair of earplugs - music is always playing VERY loud
2. You no longer have a car (if anyone asks) - everyone wants you to drive them around
3. Not all clothes are share-able - most people guard their closets
4. Catch the early-bird special or go hungry - if you're not there at 5, you're out of luck
Number four here, is of great importance in this project. A fellow student, and Kappa Delta member, Coco Sullivan, relayed to me the inside details about what it's like to live, and eat, in a sorority. Her exact words were, "It's like a restaurant, but you don't pick off the menu." Lunch and dinner are served at set times, whereas breakfast is not served. Lunch is from 11:30 am-2 pm, and dinner is from 5-6 pm. For breakfast, you can grab whatever you want, and there is a salad and sandwich bar available at all times, everyday, from 11:30 am-6 pm. However, if you can't make the set times for lunch and dinner, you can call ahead and they will make you a bagged lunch, and leave a dinner out for you - they have chefs who cook for them. How convenient!
However, with this convenience, comes a great price! The cost of living in a sorority is anywhere from an extra $2,000-$5,000, on top of the price of tuition and food plan. That's a hefty sum for a single year of college, but those who chose to participate in a Greek organization consider the benefits to far outweigh the costs.
Sorority Row @ IU (see Kappa Delta, bottom left corner)
Off-Campus Living
Last, but not least, comes off-campus living. I'm currently a sophomore, but I've always lived off-campus in a house my parents purchased when my older sister went to IU before me. Needless to say, I have greater responsibilities - paying bills, up keeping a house inside and out, and managing roommates - than my other student counterparts. For these reasons, I can offer great insight into the off-campus eating situation.
From my budget, and those of other students listed on College Confidential, about $100 is spent per month on food. Within the course of a year, that amounts to roughly $1,200 (including summer), far less than the cost of living in either a dorm or sorority. However, while food is much cheaper than living in either the dorm or sorority, the cost of bills, gas, and other expenditures add up quickly. With the cost of cable/internet, gas, electric, trash, sewer, water, and so forth, that's about $400/month, so the cost of living off-campus is roughly $6,000 a year! Keep in mind, that cost doesn't include other things, like property tax. With a slightly greater cost than living elsewhere, living off-campus has great benefits. In the neighborhood I live in, it is about five miles off campus, toward Ellettsville, located in a great, quiet, residential neighborhood. Living here is the perfect study spot, away from all the activity and noise that a college campus has to offer.
Living solely off of money collected from rent, it is a rare occurance to have a full refrigerator, full pantry, AND money in the bank. Thanks to the graciousness of my parents, a full fridge comes often, - milk, orange, juice, frozen meals, chicken, hamburger, fresh fruit, and snacks - and food is always at the ready. This pales in comparison to the junk foods found in dorm food courts, and the set, regimented meals of the sorority houses. Living off-campus allows for meals at anytime, at your own cost, and brings great ease (it's just a room away)!
One of the meals I have cooked for dinner
My off-campus housing
With all of the above information, which compares and contrasts dorm, sorority, and off-campus living, many things have been taken into consideration - cost, efficiency, and ease, among other things. Along with this, a great deal of consideration should also be placed in the student budget. In an article by State University, entitled, "A Look at the Spending Habits of College Students," students across the nation spend on average about $13,000 per year in living expenses, the greatest deal being spent on food. Students spend more than $11 billion per year on snacks and beverages, $3 billion on entertainment, $4 billion on personal care, and $5 billion on clothes and shoes! Even though living in a dorm or sorority seems cheaper, a lot of students spend their money eating out, and on coffee, such as Starbucks. For these reasons, it is especially important to cut costs, and save money by any means.
This is an excellent visual source on the average student budget.
Whether dorm, sorority, or off-campus living and dining, there is something out there for everyone!
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