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community
c lose-up
Splitti ng it up.
Studies often have to take a bacbeat
to household chores. Roger Frisinger
gets an early jump on chopping wood
before the cold weather descends
upon Moscow. (photo b y H. IA!ntz)
FREEDOM FOR RENT
F
inding an apartment in Moscow is often
like tracking down a "zebra swallowtail"
in the Amazon.
Yes, you've got it. It's nearly impossible.
But each semester, hundreds of students
decide to live off, rather than on, campus. For the
lucky few who do find an apartment, they soon
discover that apartment living is not always a
romantic "home away from home."
In fact numerous drawbacks exist. Contending
with roommates' idiosyncrasies, preparing your
own meals a nd cleaning the bathrooms are some
of the most frequent complaints.
Mike Collopy, a chemistry graduate student,
compared living in an apartment to having "a
bullet in the head."
"You never know what you're getting until you
pay the deposit and the first month's rent,"
argued Collopy.
And, sometimes that bullet is painful. Collopy
recalls the time he shared a two·bedroom trailer
with two other students. The crowded conditions
didn't bother him, but "the spiders and the neighbor's
barking puppy Zack were nerve-racking."
Since you see a roommate a t least once a day,
you quickly learn to contend with his idosyn-
crasies while simulta neously developing a friendship.
And, it is this £riendship which may in fact
create an uncomfortable situation.
For example, Cindy Birdshall, an English
graduate student, recalls sharing an apartment
with a woman in her field.
"Although we were very diUerent from one
another," explained Birdsall, "we liked each
other a lot.
"The only problem we ever bad was over her
two cats. She loved them. Well ... I'm mentally
allergic to cats, so you can guess how I felt. Fortunately,
the landlord intervened. The cats left,
and we got along wonderfully."
Sometimes problems with roommates are not
solved so easily. Nikki Stevens, an English
graduate student, recollects the time a roommate
decided to "steal" her apartment.
"I was in D.C. for the summer," she explained,
"when my roommate decided to move me out of
my apartment. Needless to say, the old maxium,
'possession is nine-tenths of the law,' rang true.
She stayed; I left. It really destroyed our friendship."
But apartment living also bas definite advantages.
continued [>
Term p aper blues.
Typing term papers Ia next to Impossible without plenty
of room to spr-d the paper. rough drafts. conectlon tape
and other such aupplles around. Anne Fichtner finds ample
apace In her apartment, but that l1 atlll no assurance
of a good grade. (photo by H. Lentz)
A dash of spice.
Moll atudenta who move off campus learn the art of
cooking. whether they want to or not. Gloria Willis
carefully adds .-aoning as her sauce simmers over low
h-t. (photo by H. Lentz)
224 Off Campus