Assignment #2: Transitional Housing

Recap: Transitional Housing Perspective from Students 

A majority of Michigan State University students who have been affected by transitional housing said despite some challenges, this unfamiliar living situation was an overall positive experience. 

Although the third person in each transitionally housed dorm room was offered a new space to live by the end of the fall semester, 215 residents voluntarily chose to remain in their original housing assignments in 2013, according to Laura Cole from LiveOn. 

Freshman Garrett Patterson said although the lack of space for a futon is still an issue when visitors come over, he really enjoys his living situation and having an extra person to rely on in the first few weeks of school was really beneficial. 

He said after coordinating everything with his two roommates and dividing up the responsibilities for bringing certain necessities, having one person move out wouldn't have made sense. 

Lauren Friebe, another student who voluntarily has an additional roommate, said she would have never imagined making this decision at the start of the semester. 

“We thought our additional roommate was going to move out at first, but we became really close,” said Friebe.

She said having an extra person makes it hard to concentrate on studying sometimes, but the living situation is not as difficult as she anticipated.

Assignment #2: Transitional Housing

Preview: Residence Education and Housing Services' Stance on Transitional Housing 

Transitional housing continues to be an issue at Michigan State University because the number of incoming freshmen, transfer students, and returning residents are always changing, according to Assistant Director of Residence Education and Housing Services Charlie Thompson-Orsua. 

"Certainly there is some forecasting that can be done, but the numbers are always fluctuating," he said. "We try to do the best we can to be aware of it."

According to Laura Cole, the assistant manager of the Housing Assignments Office, the fall semester of 2013 saw an increase in transitional housing that affected 1,131 residents, compared to the 798 students impacted in 2012.

She said the increase was predictable because of a steady increase throughout the past three years, as well as the ongoing renovations of Butterfield and Landon residence halls, which currently make 700 rooms unavailable to residents on campus. 

As Butterfield and Landon will be completed by next fall, it is predicted that MSU will not have any transitional housing cases in 2014, said Cole via email.

Despite misconceptions about MSU’s intentions for utilizing transitional housing, Assistant Director of Communications for REHS Ashley Chaney said the university guarantees housing for all freshmen even if they must add an additional person to each room. 

"We have so much data that shows the impact of students who live on campus, and how that positively impacts their experience," she said. 

Assignment #1: The Fosters Recap

Recap 

As this week's episode of The Fosters unfolded, Brandon and Callie struggled to cope with the fact that they will soon be legally bound as brother and sister. 

This upcoming adoption has been an ongoing issue between the two individuals who fell in love a few months after the Fosters welcomed Callie and Jude into their home.

Earlier this week, Wyatt returned to Anchor Beach High School, and it appears that Callie is trying to rekindle her relationship with him so that she can move on from Brandon.

At the school’s Winter Ball, Brandon confronted Callie and tried to convince her that they can still be together, despite the adoption.

“We’re not related. We don’t share the same blood, there’s nothing wrong or illegal about that,” Brandon said. 

Callie said moving on is the only option because she can’t date Brandon while committing to her new family.

Following this argument, Callie was crowned Winter Queen and she went on to thank the other students for their support.

Minutes later, three students said that Callie allegedly brought alcohol to the dance in order to bribe students and secure her chances of winning. 

Police found a fake ID in Callie’s purse, along with text messages discussing her intent to offer alcohol in exchange for individual’s votes.

Upon reaching the police, Brandon said that he set Callie up.

 There is still further investigation taking place to determine whether or not Brandon was just trying to save Callie from being sent back to the juvenile facility.

Brandon said in addition to this incident, he is responsible for creating and selling fake ID’s to multiple other students.

Police arrested Brandon, but they later decided to drop the charges.

Assignment #1: The Fosters Preview

Preview

In last week’s episode of The Fosters, Callie returned to her foster home after spending time in a juvenile detention facility.

After contemplating living on her own, Callie said she wanted to finally become part of a family.

Later on, Callie and Jude learned that in order to officially be adopted by the Fosters, their father must sign over his parental rights.

Before asking their biological father for his consent, Jude and Callie were given the opportunity to meet with him.

Callie’s curiosity overpowered the resentment she felt for her dad, and she showed up at his doorstep.

As Callie spent time with her father and reminisced about the past, it appeared that she might be changing her mind about the adoption.

Despite these mixed signals from Callie, will she actually leave behind her loving foster family to give her dad a second chance?