No place for children

Junior English major Kimberly Frazier has never known what it's like to live in a dorm.

It was never an option for Frazier, whose life is far from that of a typical student — she pays her own bills, works full time at Ruby Tuesday and is the sole provider for her 5-year-old son, Jaylin. And although a Residence Hall Association bill supporting a trial program of university "family housing" — giving students such as Frazier a place to raise their families on the campus — has lost its main proponent, the idea hasn't gone anywhere for student mothers.

"Freshman year, I wanted something close to campus that would give me a shorter commute and more time for studying," Frazier said. "But there's nothing around university that I would consider. Having available housing from the university would have been great."

RHA Vice President Taylor Cole, who authored the resolution but is dropping out of the university, said she has always felt passionate about the issue, even though she is not a student mother herself.

"I've been thinking about this for years," she said. "My personal interest is making sure UMD is a leader. And as bachelor's degrees are becoming more a part of life, we want to make sure everyone gets the same opportunity to earn one — even the people that are not traditional students."

But Frazier and her friend Angelina Dani De Rosa, who is also a single mother juggling a full course load, said the university could do more than just offer family housing — having an on-campus day care that could accept more children and support groups for student mothers would create a better atmosphere for those with families, they said.

"I always felt like I was the only one at the university with this situation — taking care of myself and working full time [with a child]," Frazier said. "I felt like I couldn't relate to anyone on campus. If there were a support group, it would just be so helpful."

Although there is an on-campus day care center, it has limited capacity and only accepts preschool children. For mothers who cannot get on the waitlist, they are left without any other university options for child care.

And Mia Smith-Bynum, a professor in the family science department, said this often creates an added burden for mothers who are also going to school.

"I would say the primary challenge for a single parent in school is role overload," she said. "You are then responsible for being a student, as well as meeting the needs of the child. For example, living far from campus can create a logistical difficulty with getting the child to day care and getting to class on time."

The original RHA bill would create family housing within the dorms, but Frazier said she had some worries about that part.

"Unless there was a specific area for family housing, I would prefer if the university would help with housing that is off-campus but is very close," she said. "I would have reservations about my son being around everybody on the campus."

RHA President Sam Lengyel said although the body is not planning on taking up the family-housing bill in the immediate future, she hopes to approach it again with a strong student sponsor.

Dani De Rosa said the university should go even further than simply providing family housing — in general, the on-campus culture should be changed to be more accepting of undergraduate students with families.

"I think that UMD is definitely lacking in support of students with dependents," Dani De Rosa said. "To support parents going to college is supporting the future — our future and our children's future."

romas at umdbk dot com