Ellissa Coburn
Equinox Staff
Students living off campus now have an opportunity to join a group and become a part of something. The Off-Campus Student Association is a brand new program that Residence Life at Keene State College is working to put together. With enough interested people the group will be able to start up and get to work. Allison Riley, the coordinator of student and community relations, is the one in charge to get this group off. “I am really just trying to offer a way of getting it [the Off-Campus Student Association] off the ground if there are people interested in doing this,” Riley said.
Riley just started working for Keene State last January. Her position is very new but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t willing to start up a group like this one. She gives credit to Jim Carley and Kent Drake-Deese for bringing up the topic about off-campus students needing a voice. Riley had a table set up at the Student Involvement Fair this year where she was able to see “the energy level” of the students willing to participate in this group.
One of the goals for this group, similar to any other group here on campus, is for students to be heard. Students need to know there are people who want to hear what they have to say. As head of the group, Riley is looking for “a representative group to talk to the college through me, or however, about issues they may have,” she said.
Riley has kept herself busy here at Keene State. She has had several workshops for “how to be a more successful off-campus student.” For one workshop she had an attorney come and speak to the students about student-tenant rights and responsibilities. “I know a lot of the students in the audience were very surprised at some of the stuff she was educating them about,” Riley said.
Rick Grauer is a landlord and does a lot of business with Keene State Students. “Most students moving off campus have no idea what they are looking for and have no idea of their rights. As a result the city has successfully made rules that are only enforced against students,” Grauer said.
As Grauer suggests, if students became “united” they would be able to work together and stand up for such rights that are aimed only at students.
One student who has shown interest in being a part of this group is senior Alyssa Munsell. Munsell spent time with Riley at the Student Involvement Fair where she first heard of this group. “We got a lot of interest from people who were commuter students,” Munsell said.
Munsell is not a newbie when it comes to being part of organizations at Keene. She has taken part in Circle K, Inter-Faith Voices, Active Minds, and several others. Circle K is a community service organization, so with that background Munsell will be a big asset for the Off-Campus Student Association.
“Seeing that we are now members of the Keene community, we should offer and give ideas as ways to give back to the community,” Kendra Guerin said. Guerin is also a person of interest for this group, after being a key member in KSC’s Residence Hall Organization (RHO).
With this group, another plan would be to create programs. Riley emphasized the fact that it will be a student-run organization. She wants the students to decide what they want to do. Riley has found ideas that she will share with the group. One of those ideas is called Adopt-A-Street. With a program like Adopt-A-Street the goal is to create a more positive atmosphere between Keene residents and Keene State students. With Adopt-A-Street each club or sports team on campus would get to pick a street on which they help clean up the transient trash, like a neighborhood clean-up.
Guerin also mentioned a program she would “give back to the community.” Her suggestion was “how to be safe when walking around Keene.”
Guerin mentioned programs about safety, community service, and budgeting tips. “Being involved by either being on or off campus is a great way to meet new people and make a difference,” she said.
Riley is still looking for students who would be interested in being a part of this group. For those of you who are living off-campus and want your voices to be heard, you should consider joining this group. If you let your voices be heard you could possibly even change certain policies. This will only be possible if enough people get together and speak on behalf of all Keene State students who are currently living off campus.
Ellissa Coburn can be contacted at ecoburn1@ksc.mailcruiser.com