High School Fantasy Camp, Brothel Student Housing, President Lives in Dorms, & More

Around the College Towns: Links and commentary related to urbanism and higher ed for the week of Nov. 30 - Dec. 6.

Japanese School Offering Foreigners Fantasy Camp High School Life

In a fun story from old Twitter, a city in Japan has created a tourism experience replicating an imagined Japanese high school life. This is clearly leveraging Japanese soft power in terms of anime series that are often set in high school. I am sure foreigners doing these Fantasy Camps aren’t exactly focusing on strict exams, but rather just the fun stuff. So it is certainly a romanticized version of Japanese student life.

This got me thinking, why doesn’t the US try this somewhere? American high school life has also been romanticized through pop culture in various ways. I am sure foreigners abroad and Americans alike would be interested in experiencing what it was like going to school in a Dazed and Confused-like 1970s high school experience. Who wouldn’t want to party at the Moon Tower once in their life? Perhaps one of these dead colleges could be repurposed into one of these experiences.

A Fantasy Camp Dazed and Confused Experience could be popular.

UNLV Explores Tiny Houses for Students

UNLV is demoing student housing with a company called Boxabl. Boxabl offers tiny trailer-like studios. At only 365 square feet, these are very small units. But students today consistently report that they would prefer smaller units that they can live in alone rather than the traditional dorm shared space of yore. If students want this model of housing, give it to them. My only concern is the price tag to build is apparently $60,000 per unit. That feels slightly too high for a trailer of this size, even a nicer one like this. I’m hoping to visit these units for a full write-up next year.

These look like a fairly standard trailer.

Small, but smart use of space. Not too tiny for 1 student.

Southern Methodist University (SMU) Students Grapple with Brothel Law

In more housing student housing news, The Dallas Morning News Editorial has published a complaint about how SMU students are violating the so-called Brothel Law in housing around campus. These laws are meant to deter overcrowding, but they function to make standard student living illegal:

“zoning ordinance forbidding more than two people not related by blood, marriage or adoption to live in the same dwelling”

Brothel Laws in general are absurd, and this one is especially egregious. The newspaper just papers right over how ridiculous it is. It is un-American!

The paper demands some kind of restitution to neighbors who live in the neighborhood, which is literally called University Park and has had a major university located in it for more than a century. We shouldn’t simply let students run wild, but we also must expect places next to colleges to be rowdier than the typical single-family neighborhood. Pretending it is just a normal neighborhood is ignoring reality and history.

100 years ago, SMU was alone in a vast farmland. The neighborhoods sprouted up around the campus. Via Flashback: Dallas.

A poem describing how desolate the area around SMU was a century ago. Via Flashback: Dallas.

University President Lives in Student Housing

A university president living in the dorms sounds like some 1980s screwball comedy B-plot, but it’s not too far off from what’s happening at Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma. The interim president, Jari Askins, had initially moved into Cameron’s presidential residence, but had to move out due to maintenance and “mechanical difficulties.” Many universities have been facing deferred maintenance issues, this one just happened to impact the presidential residence. It is more sad than the funny comedy we might imagine from seeing the headline. Askins, for her part, has seen the silver lining in the situation by noting she gets to live on a beautiful campus and keep a closer connection to the students.

Nike’s Phil Knight Fuels Oregon National Champs Through NIL

College football season is heating up with the upcoming first-time playoff featuring 12 teams. If you thought college football was big business before, things have only become more intense. The key reasons are NIL and the transfer portal, which essentially allows colleges to pay players to transfer from one institution to another. It means the recruitment process never stops. The programs with the deepest pocket boosters are the ones coming out ahead in this landscape of college football. The University of Oregon has one of the deepest pocket boosters in Phil Knight, the legendary founder of Nike. He has reportedly donated upwards of $1 billion to his alma mater (see example below).

"Phil Knight wants to win a championship and cure cancer… He's made that very clear. Win a national championship and cure cancer with his billions."

Well, with Oregon cruising to a #1 ranking and favorites to win it all this year, it looks like his investment has been well spent. Good for Phil. Now, I’m just hoping he can figure out that second part of his wish.

Parents Say University of Tulsa Lied About NIL Football Deal for Sons

Finally, with so much money flowing into the sport, there are bound to be some shady deals and scorned feelings. Parents of student-athletes at the University of Tulsa are alleging that the university broke its NIL promises. They claim that the coach made verbal promises to the players, but the money never materialized. It should be noted that the school uses a third party to manage the NIL funds. This kind of story has only become more common in college football, where the higher education, non-profit mission comes to a head with a sport that is becoming more professionalized and profit-driven. It will be interesting to see how higher education continues to navigate these relationships.