"Real World" Housing

I had an emergency meeting this morning in my apartment complex concerning community complaints about students. Myself and the other students had to walk over to school at the ungodly hour of 9 am on my day off to talk with the management. Lets just ignore that we had meet so early because of the manager's court appearance, and was late because he got lost walking over the two blocks to campus and focus on what was discussed.

Basically the community felt that students are disrespectful and make their living situations impossible. Some of the complaints included lack of parking spaces on the street, noise complaints, smoking outdoors and cigarette butts, theater kids practicing incessantly, etc., etc. I'm going to just pretend the parking argument wasn't brought up because it's New York and give me a break. I will even sympathize with the community about the theater kids and their tap dancing. But if you are going to sit down and lecture me about the "real world" (a term I've come to hate in my last year of college), lets not pretend we are treated as adults living among this "real world" you speak of.

As a single, white, female, I'm not one to yell "oppressed!" very often, but college kids are not treated the same as most adults. Regardless of job status, GPA, or drinking habits, we are seen as loud, fratty, drunken, assholes from miles away. Even if we weren't singing, smoking, drinking and swearing simultaneously, we would have had that meeting.

The apartment management kept bringing up that it didn't matter that student's were trying to keep the peace with their neighbors by giving handing out phone numbers with the "don't hesitate if you have a problem" promise. The argument was that we couldn't relate to the other tenant's concerns and that they would just call in their complaints regardless.

Half way through the meeting I started wondering who the "adults" were in this little scenario? Was it the neighbors who worked long days to come home to a bunch rowdy kids, deciding to "tattle" instead of working out a solution? Or was it the students who worked equally long days and chose to unwind without their neighbors best intentions in mind? I guess ultimately both parties are to blame. Vindictiveness and spite will win over rationality, leaving me to believe that this "real world" is nothing but an high school. The prom queens will trip the mathlete to make themselves feel better. The pissy neighbors will continue to go to the management every time a fork is dropped too loudly in hopes of getting the students evicted while the students will rebel and de-stress with karaoke and beer pong into all hours of the night. Its a vicious cycle I tell you. Its days like this where I can't wait to join this "real world" come May.