By Langston Beamer

Loyola is growing fast and that is great. With the vast amount of incoming freshman, dorms are being filled faster than ever. Even with the new dorms that are being built they are for underclassmen. This leaves upperclassmen like myself scrambling to find affordable off campus housing. And during the times when midterms and class projects are pilling up on your plate you find yourself pushing apartment searching to the back of your schedule.  However, there is no need to stress out about looking finding apartment. Over the past semester I have learned multiple tips to help ease the apartment shopping process and find the apartment that fits your needs and budget.

• Look 50-60 days before you want to move in. Most landlords ask their tenants to give them at least a 60 days notice for when they move out. This gives you the time to find your apartment the second it goes on the market.
• Visit the neighborhood. While most of the time you do an apartment tour during the day, in order to get a full sense of where you might be living visit the neighborhood at night. Safety is very important in terms of where you live.
• Referral fee.  Everyone loves discounted prices. Some landlords give a referral bonus to existing tenants who refer new tenants. So find an existing tenant and get your apartment price knocked down!
• Know what you want.  The best way to find an apartment is to know exactly what you want. If you don’t, you could be searching forever and wasting valuable time.
• Sublease or not ? If you are thinking about subleasing your apartment make sure you ask your future landlord. Sub leasing is up to your landlord and the lease agreement.

While hunting for an apartment can be a stressful time, just remember to have fun and think about all the memories you’ll make in your future apartment!!

She’s Human Too

Langston Beamer

I came from a Jesuit all-boys school in Detroit with nine of my classmates. Though I have a sister and have interacted with women before, it was mostly at social events such as dances and football games. I never really understood how females think. I would quickly come to realize what it is like interacting with them in and outside of the classroom.  At first I felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of females at Loyola. I felt that there was no way I would be able to have the “we are a band of brothers” lifestyle that I had at my high school.

I was truly mistaken. Not only was I able to keep close male friends, I realized that women are looking to make friends just like I was. I quickly began to make female friends. In fact, these female friendships have taught me many things as well. Things such as not putting hashtags in your Instagram caption, wearing a tee shirt and joggers every day is not okay, and you better not be the one who breaks the snap streak. I have enjoyed my time here at Loyola so far and have been grateful for the friends I have made and the advice I have received.

Through these everyday interactions, I also learned things about myself that I would have never discovered. Never in a million years would I have thought I would have a job that had to do with posting on social media. While my appreciation for photography and fine art has grown immensely, I haven’t lost any of my old interests. I still love playing football and I still love basketball. I have been here for two years and I look forward to see what else Loyola has in store for me. If there is one thing that every guy should know, it’s that women are human too.