2001-04-26

              Record 8

iRECORD

26 April 2001

become parents

Making [Res] life work with your child

By Anne K. Dotson

Ever since junior high Lisa Johnson had dreams of going to college at CSB. She applied in high school, was accepted, and began her college career in the fall of 1993. She was active throughout her time at CSB, even working as a CA in the West apartments her junior year. She graduated in December of 1996 with honors and a bachelor's degree in accounting. She has since married, changed her name to Lisa Wolf and has an accounting career in the Cities.

Lisa's story is a fairly typical one, except for the fact that she has the distinction of being the first single mother to live on campus at CSB with her child.

Lisa and her son Brandon lived together on campus for three and a half years while Lisa pursued her degree. Brandon went to daycare for eight hours a day while Lisa went to class, worked at her work-study job and did homework. At 4:00 she would pick up Brandon and spend the evening with him. It was definitely a busy life, though not as different from other students as most might think. "I did everything other students did. I hung out, ate supper...the only real difference was flexibility to go out," Lisa said.

The path to her freshman year at CSB was not all easy though. Lisa's mother, Mary Lou Johnson, fought tirelessly for her daughter to fulfill her dreams of being a St. Ben's student. "[The administration] was initially non-receptive. They had many concerns, like housing, daycare, insurance liability,  and  moral  concerns  -

such as what if the baby's father ended up staying the night."

In her quest, Mary Lou even sent in a photograph of Lisa with Brandon to show them that she was more than a name. "I wanted them to see her as a real person with a child," she said.

Now, almost eight years after Lisa paved the way for single mothers on campus, St. Ben's no longer provides any type of housing for students with children, and hasn't since 1998. When Lisa graduated in 1996, there were still several mothers living on campus. The following year three groups of students and their children were moved to the Rainbow House, a college-owned house off campus. According to Jody Terhaar, CSB director of residential life, it was a positive experience and seemed to work better than on-campus housing. The next year, however, St. Ben's ceased to provide any housing at all for mothers.

"We do not have space that meets the needs of both students without children, students with children and the children themselves," said Terhaar. She added that past issues with mothers and children on campus include noise problems with students partying or babies crying, the unpredictability of need for housing, and student frustration that housing was being taken away from them for student mothers.

Instead, CSB has changed its focus to helping students with children in finding other sources of assistance. Terhaar pointed out the student group Parents on Campus and Sigrid Hedman-Dennis of the health

education department as two such resources. "We are supportive of students who have children and I think we can be supportive even though on-campus housing is not an option," said Terhaar.

One CSB sophomore recently renewed the fight for student housing for mothers and children. Kristi Barber has gone through residential life, academic advising and financial aid in hopes of finding institutional support for herself as a pregnant student. She has been told that housing for her and her child is simply not an option. Right now she faces a one-hour commute from her hometown of Spicer after she has her baby in September, leaving her child in the care of her parents while she is at school.

"If I could live on campus I would," said Barber.    She said that it is disappointing that she will have to give up her participation in clubs since she will be on   campus   significantly less frequently.    She said that  the   support   of the Health Advocates, of which she is a part, has been incredible.     They are starting programming on pregnancy next year, an issue upon which they have never touched.

CSB senior Amy Praught is the coordinator of Parents on Campus, a group organized this year to look into issues of providing daycare for students with children. Citing the administration's concern about uncertain demand by student mothers, Praught said, "To me it's not about demand or a percentage of students, it's about accessi-

bility. If you have one student who is not allowed an opportunity that another student is, that's a problem."

Praught lives in Waite Park with her son while attending classes at CSB during the day. She said it was a struggle at first to become a part of the St. Ben's community.

campus," she said, "and didn't get to meet as many people."

Looking back on the experience of raising her son on a college campus, Lisa sees nothing but positives. Brandon had his own library card to check out books at the library, even though he could not see over the counter. Other students would make a point to say hi to him and play with him as they walked by. "For the most part people were very supportive," she said. "I think that living on campus helped me be more involved with the community."