To be in an apartment or not to be: that is a question many NIU students face. Yet making the correct decision about where to live and why does not always come easy.

Mary Clark, a tenant at West Ridge Apartments, 400 E. Hillcrest Drive, said DeKalb apartment life holds both advantages and disadvantages.

“I have my own bathroom,” she said. Clark said the West Ridge complex is new and has required few repairs so far. However, Clark said many of her neighbors are loud.

Student tenants in general are treated differently than regular DeKalb citizens. “They (the management) assume someone else is paying rent,” she said. “They stick you for everything at the end of the year.”

Clark said the management is not as concerned with professionalism in the case of students. “They know we need the housing,” she said. She said her apartment was used as the complex’s office during the summer and nails were left in the walls.

“No matter how old an apartment is, you expect damage,” she said. Clark said landlords, in general, take great financial losses due to damages and do not bother to make repairs in the long run.

Construction workers are adding more units to the complex, she said, and personnel often are unavailable to make apartment repairs. Tenants need to be home for repairs to be done, she said.

Clark said her toilet leaked at the beginning of the school year, but was fixed promptly. However, she said reports of her falling shower curtain rod have been ignored for more than two weeks.

Although Clark has complaints, she likes the management. “They offered to carpet our apartment,” she said, explaining that her apartment was used as a model and the carpet showed some wear.

Clark complained the grounds are a mess, mostly because of students. This situation might improve after the construction workers complete their work at the complex.

Parking is a problem at the complex, Clark said. She said the lot has not been paved yet. Clark said two parking permits will be given to each apartment, but she is worried her permanent parking space will not be near her apartment.

Clark said residents currently must park in the street, sharing the space with people across the street. Parking is prohibited from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. during some mornings, she said. “It’s a real hassle now,” she said. No visitor parking is currently available, Clark said.

Other problems with the grounds include pot holes, she said. “They take a while to fix them, and they’ve only been filled twice.”

Clark said she is happy with her apartment and will most likely stay in the same place. “It depends on when I graduate,” she said.