The HUSTLE and bustle of Oxford, Miss.
As Oxford, Miss. Grows, the amount of affordable housing options decrease. New complexes are being built left and right with luxury amenities such as all inclusive gyms, tanning salons, and swimming pools. These amenities are very nice, but they come at a steep price. The average cost of a bed space in one of these apartment complexes could be up to six hundred dollars a month, and that doesn’t include utilities. Maggie Higgs, a senior majoring in Sociology, pays about six hundred and seventy five dollars a month just for rent. “Living in Oxford is extremely expensive. Housing options are limited and super pricey,” Maggie Higgs said.
Many students, in order to stay afloat financially, work a job on top of being a full time student. Anna Weirman, a senior majoring in Journalism, works three jobs to keep up with the cost of living in Oxford. She is the editor for the Lifestyles section in The Daily Mississippian, a model for the art department, and a receptionist at the Ole Miss art museum. “I work about thirty hours a week to pay my bills. It’s hard juggling it all sometimes, especially with being a full time student,” Anna Weirman said.
The school’s population is increasing with every incoming freshman class. As more and more students pour into Oxford, the prices and demand for housing increases. Sophomores used to have the option of living in dorms on campus. In 2014, Ole Miss sent out a mass email stating that there would no longer be allowing sophomores to live in the dorms on campus. This forced hundreds of students to scramble and find off campus housing.
Oxford is a small southern town that is so full it is bursting at the seams. Students are beginning to overflow into housing that used to be affordable family housing. The demand for student housing has raised prices, forcing families to vacate their houses to find more affordable options.
Tomisina Talliew, an Oxford native, looked over her shoulder at her four year old daughter, Callie. “Get out of that dirt girl, you have your school pants on,” Tomisina Talliew said. Callie just smirked and continued to make her muddy masterpiece. Tomisina grew up in Oxford, and now she is about to be homeless. Her apartment complex is closing and housing in Oxford is too expensive. “Callie doesn’t understand whats happening. I just want her to be able to have a place to live and go to a good school,” Tomisina Talliew said. All of the luxury amenities don’t offer anything to her as a single mom. She just needs a safe affordable place for her and her daughter to call home.
Students are working strenuous hours in order to keep up with Oxford’s pricey living expenses. As the University grows, students are looking further and further from campus to find housing. The demand for off campus housing is making it too expensive for low income families. These families are being forced out of their hometown in order to afford to keep a roof over their head. Oxford is growing, the University of Mississippi is growing, but the housing crisis is also growing larger and more dire every day.