The Yellow House, one of Jacobs University's pilot projects for off-campus housing, opened up its doors in the beginning of this semester for ten Graduate students and one Undergraduate. One of these Graduates, Alejandro Alvarado from Guatemala, agreed to partake in an exclusive interview with PoTW.com on life at Hammersbeckerstraße 130.

PoTW.com: Could you give us a general description of the Yellow House?

AA: It is divided into the bedrooms and the common areas. The house is a 2-story building with 3 flats on the ground floor and one big flat, hosting 5 people, including myself, on the upper floor. The Common Rooms can be found on the side of the house and are very similar to the facilities we have in Jacobs University. There is also a TV Room, a basement, a laundry room and we even have RA's. Currently we are also trying to get some new games for the Common Room similar to those in the colleges.

PoTW.com: What do you think was Jacobs University's reason for establishing the Yellow House?

AA: I think that the university generally wants to expand and that at the moment there were no other possibilities to do so, although now there are plans for the construction of a fourth college and a second off-campus housing project called the Blue House. The Yellow House was so to say a pilot project.

Also another reason could be that the administration finally realized that it is necessary to help the Grad students a bit more in finding housing facilities.

PoTW.com: Why did you choose to move into the Yellow House?

AA: First of all, because there are a lot of benefits of being surrounded with students, especially if they are students from the same university. But there are also other factors, like lower rent, the fact that it is only 15 minutes away from campus, and that a lot of services are provided for, for example the TV Room. Overall, I thought it would be nice to take part in such a pilot project and see how it develops.

PoTW.com: Would you rank the Jacobs University colleges or the Yellow house higher in terms of lifestyle?

AA: Definitely the Yellow House. It is 5 times better because as it is so small it is much easier to organize. Everyone has their weekly tasks, there are no noise problems and activities for all of us can easily be organized. Since most of the people living here are Graduates we are also already fully equipped with, for example, kitchen utensils. And most importantly it seems to be more like your own flat because we all respect each other's space. However, living on campus is generally more comfortable, especially for Undergrads.

PoTW.com: What is your personal opinion about these new alternatives offered by Jacobs University?

AA: I personally think that it is very positive because people have finally realized that the students should have choices and that these different opportunities add to the diversity of the experiences that you make at Jacobs University. And after all it is also a good practice for living on your own.

Seemingly, the new housing projects provided by Jacobs University offer a good alternative to living on campus and everyone is looking forward to seeing how future projects will develop.

	Written by saloo on 23-03-2007 00:09 - Guest
	great interview! will there be picture from the inside as well? Report

	Written by Monsurat Nurudeen on 24-03-2007 12:16 - Guest
	We are working on it! Report

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