Students balance class, parenthood in life on-campus

By Claire Byun

byunc@thejohnsonian.com

“Yes, we have families and you will see kids running around occasionally. This is not a dorm, Roddey is a home,” Russo said. This semester, two children live in the residence hall in two seperate apartments. Photo by Kathleen Brown • brownk@thejohnsonian.comCollege students’ rooms are usually filled with earmarked papers, dirty laundry and half-eaten bags of Goldfish. But this semester, entire families can be found in a residence hall.

Roddey Apartments is open for families and their children, but is still considered a residence hall on campus. This semester, two children, along with their parents, live in Roddey.

“I’ve never had complaints about Jazlynn, and she’s been living here since she was six months

old,” said Jessica Lipscomb, Roddey resident with her daughter Jazlynn.

Lipscomb has lived in Roddey for the past two-and-a-half years, and has never  had any problems with other residents or families. Jazlynn is now two years old, and Lipscomb has another daughter due in November.

“We might live here again in January, but that time I’ll have a new baby girl,” Lipscomb said.

While Roddey is open to many residents, it mostly houses married couples, people with children and international students. The hall is coed and offers one and two bedroom units, each with a kitchen, dining area, common room and a single bathroom. Much of the furniture is provided, including a dinette table and chairs, leaving only the living room without furnishings.

Unlike other halls on campus, students are not required to have a meal plan to take up residence in Roddey.

Evan Russo, residence director for Roddey, enjoys living and working with the residents and families living in the apartments.

“My favorite part has to be the true community we have formed in our building,” Russo said. “We have so many people here from many different backgrounds and family situations that it makes us very rich with diversity and exciting.”

Though living among children might seem stressful, there have been few complaints about the families or their kids. Many of the grievances are standard and can be applied to any student.

“For example, every now and then you get a noise complaint, but instead of a college student walking around, it’s the pitter-patter of a 2- year-old,” Russo said.

Concerns about the safety of the children on campus are met by Campus Police, though they have never had any complaints regarding kids.

“No special privileges [are given to the families with children] from Campus Police,” Frank Zebedis, chief of police, said. “The families are treated like all of our students.”

During the day, Lipscomb sends her daughter to daycare so that she can attend class and work. She thinks the most difficult part of living on campus with a child is having to work around the toddler’s schedule, while still being a good parent.

“You have to schedule classes around her daycare schedule,” Lipscomb said. “I go to school and work when she’s at daycare and we chill out afterward.”

Overall, the family situation in Roddey has had very little negative effect on Russo, and he enjoys living with such a diverse group of students.

“There really haven’t been any negative situations that I have ever dealt with when it came to families,” Russo said. “I would honestly say that we have had many more positive outcomes with our families than negative ones.”

Unlike other residence halls, Russo claims Roddey is not as similar to a dorm as it is a home. The residents take pleasure in living with children, and often find refreshment in the small faces of little kids.

“Many of our residents enjoy having the children living in our community,” Russo said. “When you have a stressful day, the innocent smile of a child is sometimes all you need to perk up.”