Get a load of this university housing questionaire mandated by the university that wouldn't give our

[lonestarnot]

President an Honorary Doctorate. "In the space below (and they didn't even have a comma after below) please include a detailed narrative, to be written by the student, detailing why living at home with your parent/guardian is more academically beneficial for you than living on campus."

Now they think they are the fucking housing police!

[gkhouston]

1. "I already know how to cope with my parents' psychotic breaks. Roommates', not so much". n/t

[lonestarnot]

4. Good answer. I was think more along practical lines, food, bed, roof free.

:evilgrin:

[WinkyDink]

22. That is why they made it "academically".

[lonestarnot]

5. .

:evilgrin:

[blondeatlast]

7. ...

:rofl:

[gkhouston]

9. Ah, I see you lived on campus, too. n/t

[blondeatlast]

14. I did--and had a roomie that fit the description. Got an on-campus single

room the next year--whew!

[Chan790]

2. right...

was this all students or just some students? I ask because I attended a university that required all freshmen and sophomores not living at home to live on campus. No off-campus student housing for underclassmen permitted.

I was a staunch advocate of that policy then and now.

[david13]

8. Me too, but I never knew the policy and just violated it. Never got

caught.
I mean, I couldn't advocate it or not, I didn't know it existed.
Not the first time I've done a thing like that.
dc

[lonestarnot]

13. I think the key is "there is live at homers or live at Homer's."

Either place probably free. :evilgrin:

[virgogal]

3. Do they need a comma after "below"?

[lonestarnot]

6. below is a preposition so after the prepositional phrase.

[virgogal]

11. Thank you.

[blondeatlast]

10. Yes. nt

[virgogal]

12. Thank you.

[Igel]

18. In close punctuation styles, it would be required..

In open punctuation styles it would be forbiden.

In mixed punctuation styles it depends if you usually put one after an initial prepositional phrase.

For many, the idea that there can only be one form of a language and everybody will either obey, be re-educated, or be expelled is too tempting a form of petty authoritarianism to pass up; seldom do they consider the rules they'd impose arbitrary or unfair, if only because their rules could never be arbitrary or unfair.

Some corporate style manuals stipulate one or the other (again, petty authoritarianism). Larger organizations that deal with a diverse set of mss. and types of publications recognize what punctuation is good for and how to achieve those ends; these tend to admit a diverse set of styles and simply require consistency within a given document.

Most people using open punctuation would leave the commas entirely out of the quoted sentence in the OP. I rather suspect most using mixed punctuation would probably put a comma after the prep. phrase before setting off the parenthetical. Those using close punctuation require commas after the prep. phrase and to set off the parenthetical.

"Detailed" and "detailing" is a stylistic gaffe.

[virgogal]

21. Thanks for a great reply.

[tnlefty]

15. We didn't have that particular problem as living in a dorm was

all we were going to do with ours during his first two years. Freshmen were highly encouraged to live on campus and if they did parents were required to buy a meal ticket, which we would've done anyway in an effort to ensure that the kid had decent food available damned near 24/7. I talked to parents during parent/student orientation who were gonna put their Freshmen students in an apartment to avoid the meal ticket.

Rules, rules and more rules. I don't mean to high jack your thread, but there seem to be differing rules that irk people in different areas.

[gkhouston]

16. Decent food on campus -- ha!

I didn't understand what the "freshman fifteen" was until long after I graduated from college. The food at my alma mater was so lousy I always lost weight at school.

[tnlefty]

17. Well, he had access to fresh fruit anytime of the day, differing foods

for most of the 24/hr. day. Jeeze, not so good for you, and that sucks.

[Igel]

19. Arizona State University holds the first years' hands.

Seriously.

They know that one of the biggest impediments to the first generation going to college is lack of awareness of the system. They teach the system, guide parents and students through the system. They take in loco parentis very seriously.

"In loco parentis," widely believed to have the English translation "as crazy as my parents."

My father and I were desperate for information when I first started college. We got almost none. It was a struggle and we made some expensive and damaging mistakes.

In many states that have limited or banned affirmative action, colleges looked at their students and said, "You know, minorities are far more likely to have first generation college students than white kids. Not knowing the ropes contributions to high attrition rates. So hand-holding all frosh works as a kind of affirmative action."

ASU orientation in the spring. Incoming students have been bombarded with information about curriculum, choosing classes, financial aid, clubs and other social opportunities on campus, advise on transportation, etc., etc. My godson/nephew was registered for his fall classes months ago. He got his dorm room assignment in May. He was at E-Camp over last weekend, meeting other incoming engineering freshmen as well as their faculty and advisors. He coordinated dorm room purchases back in June with his roommate. The dorm website has all kinds of information about the dorm, including to-scale floorplans of the room. His mother knows the ASU "system" better than I knew my college's system after 4 years.

And incoming students must live in the dorms their freshman year. If you don't you find that your registration comes unstuck. If you want out of the dorms, it's at the school's discretion. You need to show that it's better for you academically--not socially, not financially--to live off campus. Even then, the choices are reduced, essentially "home" or "dorm." Not off campus with friends or by yourself.

[MilesColtrane]

20. How about, "Mom and Dad know when to put the beer bong down."?

[Ignis]

23. "a detailed narrative...detailing..."

They obviously have a crack team of writers working on this questionnaire. :dunce: