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Weighing the Pros and Cons of Going Independent Myra Liu From Merriam-Webster.com, “In·de·pen·dent: 1b (1) : not requiring or relying on something else.” From Wikipoint, Independent: “An upperclassman who does not belong to an eating club. Rumored to survive on an all-squirrel diet.” At Princeton, it is an anomaly to choose to be independent. I have heard independents being called “antisocial” and on occasion “starving.” It is true that being independent has its downsides, but just about everything does have downsides. At the same time, there are many advantages to being independent and those are what convinced me that being independent was more worth it than joining an eating club. Starting with the Cons . . . For me personally, there are some things about being independent that drive me nuts. Foremost among these would the difficulty in meeting up with friends. Everyone who’s an upperclassman has since figured out that by the time junior year rolls around, work picks up and you are busier than ever. Meeting up with friends is harder than ever, especially when they all meet up at the club while you’re eating in your room or at Frist. Second is the lack of social alternatives, but I suspect that this bothers more than just independents. For those of us that are rather averse to going to the Street to dance and/or drink, there really isn’t anything else to do. Frist has all of two pool tables, leaving the only real other alternative to be watching a movie either at the Frist Theater or the Garden Theater, which only gives you two to three options on movies. Disadvantage number three comes down to dorm facilities, specifically in Spelman. Spelman facilities are getting run down and are somewhat lacking. My room has had maintenance come numerous times throughout the school year fixing this and that. They’ve even come to fix things we didn’t know were broken. The water pipers around Spelman have broken three times this year alone and the heat in buildings 1-3 went out at the end of January in the dead of winter. For the 200 students in Spelman, there are 4 washers and 3 dryers while the 450 or so students in Butler have 15 washers and 11 dryers. Shopping for food supplies (not restaurant or Frist food) is also a problem when you don’t have a car. NJ Transit busses are notoriously unreliable, so getting to Wegman’s is difficult and the nearest “supermarket” is Wild Oats, which is small and expensive. Throughout the year, though, I’ve gotten used to these downsides and adjusted to work around them so that they are not as much of a bother anymore. Outweighed by the Pros . . . There are also plenty of things that are great about being independent and living in Spelman. I enjoy not having to pay at least $6,000 to join an eating club and not having to pay for other people to drink. I enjoy having the freedom of eating anywhere and anytime I want without having to feel guilty about wasting meals and money and worrying about making it to dinner before the food is put away. I enjoy being able to choose what I want to eat instead of depending on what happens to be served for dinner in the eating club. And as difficult as groceries are to buy, I do enjoy the opportunity/ excuse that it gives me to get off campus. Although Spelman facilities are old, they are still nice. With a common room, kitchen, and bathroom, it is virtually a private apartment. There is more space to move around (and pace) than in a single dorm room. The bathroom is covalently right outside your bedroom door as is the kitchen. The microwave is a few steps away, so I can easily heat up dinner, water, oatmeal, etc. One of the best things about being independent is that I’ve been able to get to know my roommates whom I had not really known that well before. Because in Spelman you must have four independents and because most students join an eating club, four acquaintances are sometimes obliged to room together, giving the opportunity of strengthening the friendship. For me, these advantages make independent life enjoyable. All in all, I do not regret choosing to be an independent. I find that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. In fact, many of my friends have chosen to leave the eating clubs and become independents next year. And as far as the rumored squirrel diet goes, rest-be-assured, if you choose to be an independent, squirrels are not on the menu. Myra Liu will be graduating in 2007. |
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