EDITORIAL: Conflict of Interest

The University's decision to placeThe University's decision to placethe Office of Off-Campus LivingThe University's decision to placethe Office of Off-Campus Livingunder the direction of the Depart-The University's decision to placethe Office of Off-Campus Livingunder the direction of the Depart-ment of Residential Living seems toThe University's decision to placethe Office of Off-Campus Livingunder the direction of the Depart-ment of Residential Living seems tobe a direct conflict of interest.The University's decision to placethe Office of Off-Campus Livingunder the direction of the Depart-ment of Residential Living seems tobe a direct conflict of interest._____________________________________ This move will help involve students living off campus in the administration's undergraduate education initiative which includes a large residential component and cut costs. But this move also seems to be a direct conflict of interest. A department that provides support services for students seeking off-campus living arangements has now been placed under a department that has long championed the benefits of living on campus. This contradiction arouses fears that the quality of off-campus services may decline. The Department of Residential Living has not only made attempts to keep students living in dormitories, but has launched ad campaigns that have played off the negative stereotypes of off-campus living. Posters highlighting better security and a more convenient location for on-campus living have plastered the walls of every dormitory. The University will certainly benefit from streamlined services, but students may be best served if the Office of Off-Campus Living were placed under a different department.