A Yale College Student's Religious Struggle

Every college student should be given the opportunity to decide whether or not they want to live on-campus or off-campus. However, the sad truth is that this opportunity is not created by the college student, but created by the college that the individual attends. Every college has the ultimate decision for whether or not they allow the college students to have the opportunity to live on or off-campus. Despite this sad truth, Elisha Dov Hack, a freshman Yale College student, brilliantly reported in his essay titled "College Life versus My Moral Code" that he and some of his undergraduate Yale classmates felt that Yale College had not fairly accommodated their conservative Jewish principles because of Yale's liberal response to students' sexual activities on campus. Consequently, Hack and his fellow classmates declared that they wanted fair and equitable living conditions by having Yale allow every freshman and sophomore student the right to live off campus if they desire to, (freshman and sophomore students who are older than 21 and are married are allowed to live off-campus). From a democratic perspective, Yale should waive the requirement that Yale students must live on campus and, by doing so, Yale students would be given a "separate, but equal" opportunity to live off campus. However, one can assume that Yale conducted great research to decide that if an undergraduate is younger than 21 or married, they are required to live on-campus. Because Yale presumably has done much research and because Yale has the ultimate decision to decide who lives on or off- campus, Hack and his fellow Jewish classmates should either live with Yale's decision or change their college.

Hack's and his fellow classmates' opposing argument is that Yale prohibits a vast majority of freshman and sophomore student from living off-campus and, although Yale's argument may seem harsh, Yale has many reasonable reasons that supports their stance. In response to Hack's article and in support of Yale's college life, Dean Richard H. Brodhead argued that he respects Hack and his fellow Jewish classmates as they strive to live with different morals and convictions. However, Dean Brodhead argued that Hack and his classmates must live by Yale's firm stance against changing their policies as Yale strongly believes that their college students achieve much education by learning and interacting with fellow college students. Brodhead further advanced this point by stating, "When students enter this community, their daily interaction becomes a continual scene of teaching and learning: a place to understand creeds and cultures different from one's own, to appreciate the humanity of those who hold such beliefs, and to learn to work with others across lines of difference" ("Dormitory Life is Essential for a Yale Education"). This remark is certainly true as college students can achieve much more success by consistently interacting with fellow college students who can further enrich college students' personal and collegiate knowledge.

Another reasonable reason for Yale continuing to support their current policies for their college living conditions is that Yale receives compensatory benefits from college students who reside on campus. Yale college students who live on-campus are required to pay a "room and board" fee in which the college student usually pays thousands of dollars a year to reside on-campus. If the college student is allowed to live off-campus and not pay a "room and board" fee, Yale would be missing out on thousands of dollars that they could have received. While Yale probably does not prohibit freshman and sophomore college students to live off-campus just because of "room and board" fees, "room and board" fees may be a strong reason for why Yale would not want to give permission to every college student to live off-campus. Moreover, Yale, as an institution, greatly benefits from "room and board" fees, other fees and certainly tuition as Yale distributes the money they receive from college students towards maintaining and potentially developing Yale as an institution.

In contrast, Hack and his fellow Jewish classmates also have a good argument as they emphatically ask Yale to be given the permission to live off-campus. Throughout Hack's essay, he made great points that Yale's liberal college living conditions and Yale's liberal actions for not condoning the college's liberal living conditions. Hack described his initial impression of one dormitory as "When I entered it (Bingham Hall) two weeks ago during an orientation tour, I literally saw the handwriting on the wall. A sign titled 'Safe Sex' told me where to pick up condoms on campus. Another sign touted 100 ways to make love without having sex, like 'take a nap together' and 'take a steamy shower together'" (Hack, 182). This description alone seems to affront Hack's and his fellow classmate's principles as Bingham Hall openly encourages sexual activities and even reports ways individuals can further increase and strengthen their sexual life.

Another point that helps strengthen Hack and his fellow Jewish classmate's argument is that Yale College allows freshman and sophomore students who are either 21 or older or who are married, but Yale still does not recognize that Hack and his fellow classmates deserve to live off-campus. One would think that since Hack and his classmates are so enthusiastic about their Jewish principles and how they believe their Jewish principles conflict with Yale's dormitory living conditions, Yale would give them the opportunity to live off-campus. However, Yale still does not give them this permission. It is also important to note that Dean Brodhead addressed in his editorial letter that he strongly believes that if college students are "separated" from other college students, then the college students would be "impoverished" by not having the opportunity to have more time to communicate and interact with fellow college students. Giving permission for twenty-one year old students and married students to live off campus, seems to contradict Dean Brodhead's stance as college students can learn a great deal from a twenty-year old about responsibility, and college students can also learn a great deal from married couples about not rushing to get married as young married couples seem to have immense difficulties coping with their young marriage and everyday life events that would not normally seem difficult. Hack and his Jewish classmates definitely have different reasons to live off-campus, but Hack and his classmates ignore the premise that Yale has probably conducted much research that strongly suggests that undergraduate students who are not 21 or older and who are not married should live on-campus.

In the strong chance that Hack and his fellow Jewish classmates petition the Dean and the Dean firmly continues to support the college's stance on its living conditions, Hack and his fellow classmates have three options that they should consider. One option is that Hack and his classmates continue to live on-campus until they reach their junior year. A second option is for them to transfer to another prestigious college that is not as sexually encouraging like the Yale dormitories. The third option for Hack and his fellow classmates is for them to pay the "room and board" fee but, instead of living on-campus, Hack and his Jewish classmates can live somewhere else off-campus. Not all things should be compromised, nor should they be.

Every college student, in an ideal world, should be given the opportunity to decide whether or not they want to reside on campus or somewhere else. However, in reality, college students must acknowledge and abide by their college's living conditions as it is the college that is allowing the students to study and live there. If a college student, does not like the college's living conditions, the college student has every right to continue to live there or to transfer to a different school that is more similar to their personal liking.

Brodhead, Richard H. "Dormitory Life Is Essential to a Yale Education - New York Times." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. Web. 12 Dec. 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/11/opinion/l-dormitory-life-is-essential-to-a-yale-education-052361.html.

Victory, Joy. "Need an Organ? It Helps to Be Rich." Elements of Argument: a Text and Reader. 9th ed. Annette T. Rottenberg and Donna Haisty Winchell, eds. Boston: Bedford St. Martin's, 2009. 736-9.