As students scramble to find places to live for the next academic year, the debate about housing rises again.More than a quarter of University students live on campus in residence halls and apartments, while the rest live off campus.While Residential Life emphasizes the various benefits of living on campus, many off-campus students suggest dorms can be inconvenient.FACILITIESOne advantage of living on campus is the proximity to classes.”It’s easier to wake up, as they’re just 10 minutes away from class,” said Kaitlin Nickelotte, marine biology sophomore. Residential and honors students have some classes in their dorm lobbies, eliminating the need to leave the building.On-campus residences are provided with nearly 10 computer labs with more than 100 computers, according to the ResLife Web site. Residence halls are equipped with wireless networks, allowing students to work outside their respective rooms as well. The campus transit service at night allows students faster travel to various parts of the University.”We are here to serve the 21st-century students,” said Jay High, communications manager of Residential Life. “Students have high standards that they are expecting, and we want to provide it to them.”High said most off-campus apartments don’t provide such facilities.”When you provide cheaper apartments, you get cheaper apartments,” he said.Apartment complexes like Tiger Manor provide similar on-campus facilities, including features like a club house where students can have parties or tailgate, swimming pools, a game room or an internal alarm system for each unit.Tiger Manor also has its own trolley that transports students to campus.Erick Yellot, computer science sophomore and resident of Campus Crossings, said he has a personal room, more space and a kitchen to cook his own food in his apartment.ACADEMICS“Students do academically better on campus,” said Steven Walker, ResLife director. “They become engaged with the University and community.”He also said on-campus students have shown better academic retention and graduation rates compared to their off-campus counterparts.The shared environment of learning on campus inspires students to study, said Diane Mohler, assistant director of Outreach and Programming for the Center of Academic Success.”When you see others doing it, you’ll sit down, open your books and study as well,” Mohler said. “Because you’re so close to that atmosphere, it can be motivating.”Jerid Thomas, mechanical engineering freshman who lives with his parents in Livingston, said he’s always unable to attend his evening calculus study sessions because of commuting distance.”There are study groups that you can find on campus, which in a big apartment building might be harder,” said Andrew Holley, civil engineering freshman.Students living off campus said the small dorm spaces and the active community can be a distraction.”I’d probably have a harder time concentrating while sharing less space for myself,” said Jewel Borel, leasing consultant of Sterling Apartments Northgate.COSTS“Square footage is the main thing that determines the cost of the buildings,” High said.The rent for East Campus Apartments and West Campus Apartments have the largest square footage and are the most expensive residences on campus, totaling up to $3,805 per semester for a two-bedroom apartment.Miller and Highland halls are the least expensive, with a three-student room costing $2,305 per semester. Certain popular student apartments like Tiger Plaza and Tiger Manor include amenities like Internet, electricity, cable and furniture in an extra package along with the rent. While deciding whether to rent or own a building, a majority of students like Jessica Bourque, said owning is costly and pointless, as a large amount of money is invested only during their stay in college.”It is a lot of money upfront,” the elementary education sophomore said. “If something goes bad with the market, you won’t get that money back.”SECURITY“We are familiar with the campus and know where the residential communities are,” said Detective Kevin Scott, LSU Police Department spokesman. “We have a variety of resources by which we can touch our entire jurisdiction and focus on our community’s total awareness.”Scott said the department dispatches a neighborhood police officer to every residential building on campus during the night.Residential buildings on campus are also provided with swipe-card locks, which allow only residents to enter the buildings.High said LSUPD has a higher patrol frequency compared to off-campus areas.Scott said calls from off-campus students are generally diverted to the law-enforcement agencies of the respective jurisdictions.One of the best-known cases of safety breach in the University was the double homicide of two students, Chandrasekhar Reddy Komma and Kiran Kumar Allam on Dec. 13, 2007, in an apparent case of home invasion in Edward Gay Apartments.”LSU is an open campus,” High said. “With public thoroughfares running through campus, it always poses a challenge to University patrol.”Several popular off-campus apartments have gated communities, on-duty police officers and electronic access keys.ON-CAMPUS APARTMENTSApart from WCA and ECA, ResLife also provides family and graduate housing in Nicholson and Edward Gay apartments.”These apartments are for students who want the best of both forms of housing,” High said. “They have modern kitchens, great maintenance and all the utilities.”Allie Miller, residence life coordinator of ECA, said its residents stay connected with campus activities and don’t have to drive to campus.  “Off-campus apartments may have comparable facilities, but they are in business to make a profit and are not as committed to the student’s well-being, academic advancement and success,” Miller said in an e-mail to The Daily Reveille.FUTURE OF ON-CAMPUS LIFESeveral renovation projects are lined up, including East Laville this summer and Annie Boyd Hall in 2012, according to High.Walker said ResLife invested $168 million in the maintenance and upgrade of on-campus buildings during the past 12 years.- – – -