Whether on campus or off, students can see both positive and negative aspects regarding where they decided to live.

Noelle DeRoin, a freshman vocal performance major, lives in Andrews.

She said she likes it, though she does find it expensive.

A self-described “terrible cook,” one of DeRoin’s favorite parts of being on campus is the food and having a meal plan.

Having her best friends close to her does not hurt either.

“They’re twins. They live across the hall on my floor from me,” she said. “I love them.”

Donovan Gatling, a junior biological sciences major, lived on the ninth floor of Lawson Hall both his freshman and sophomore years.

“I liked it, but I also wanted my own privacy,” he said. “Really, for the most part, I wanted to be able to play my music as loud as I wanted.”

Gatling said he did not like quiet hours while living in the residence halls.

Living off campus also gives Gatling more freedom, he said, and he pays less, mainly because he no longer has a meal plan.

“My favorite part (of living off campus) is the freedom of being able to stay out here during breaks, really, and not living with other people and communal bathrooms,” he said. “I have my own bathroom.”

Along with his own bathroom, living on his own also gives Gatling a sense of maturity and growth, he said.

Because he does not live as close to campus, he is more responsible for getting to his classes and gets to see more of the city of Charleston.

“Also, I can throw parties,” Gatling said. “I can have more than three guests.”

Maddie Lyon, a junior kinesiology and sports studies major, said she really likes living off campus.

Lyon has six roommates.

“It’s a lot, but definitely, you have a lot more freedom, you don’t have to worry about the loud noises in a dorm,” Lyon said.

For her freshman and sophomore years, Lyon lived in Lincoln Hall.

Some benefits of that, she said, were that all the cleaning was done, and residents did not have to cook their own meals.

“I kind of like cooking my own meals, though,” Lyon said.

Lyon had her own room sophomore year. Though she said that was nice, having a good roommate can be helpful, especially during the transition from high school to college.

Gavin Liu, a junior computer and information technology major, said he enjoys living with a group of people at Campus Pointe.

Though Liu and his roommates knew each other before enrolling at Eastern, he said they were able to get closer by living together.

“We can talk, we can make lunch or dinner together, when we have some problems we can tackle (them) together,” he said.

Sabrina Turner, a sophomore family and consumer sciences major, said she likes living in University Village.

Though it is a farther distance away, it feels like home, and it is affordable and nicer than where she was living before, she said.

“I lived in Lawson (last year),” she said. “It was good, (but there were) a lot of hygiene errors with girls in the bathrooms. I like my own bathroom and stuff.”

Living in Lawson came with new opportunities for Turner, as she was active in Hall Council and even served as the secretary.

“You get to know different people,” she said. “Some people I lived on the same floor (with), I’m still friends with them now.”

Cassie Buchman can be reached at 581-2812 or cjbuchman@eiu.edu.