Cathcart said she chose to live off campus because she thought it would be a good transition to real life, teaching her to balance her finances and responsibilities. "I'm about to be on my own anyway," she said. "I should see how it is."
But Cathcart might be the exception rather than the rule.
According to statistics kept by the Office of Institutional Research and the Department of Housing and Residential Education, roughly half of UNC's black students live on campus while less than a quarter of white students live on campus.
Black students, thus, are disproportionately represented in the on-campus population but are scarce in off-campus housing. Rather than matching the general University population, which is 9.8 percent black, the percentage of black on-campus residents is about 18 percent.
Christopher Payne, director of housing, said part of the discrepancy between the percentages of black and white student populations living off campus can be explained by the fact that there is a limited amount of on-campus housing.
There are 19,720 white students and 2,490 black students enrolled at UNC but only 6,707 on-campus housing spots.
But other officials cited factors like the high cost of living off campus and the convenience of campus life as contributing to the divide.
Whites make up 73 percent of the North Campus population, 66 percent of the Mid Campus population and 70 percent of the South Campus population.
Blacks make up 16 percent of the North Campus population, 18 percent of the Mid Campus population and 18 percent of South Campus population.
Granville Towers is not included in the statistics because it is considered off-campus housing.
Dennis Erny, manager of Granville Towers, said that he does not keep statistics on racial demographics but that he believes the breakdown in Granville is similar to campus residence halls.
But freshman Trevor Hoppe, a Granville resident, said he thinks Granville has the reputation of being unappealing to minorities.
"A lot of my minority friends have no desire to live here," he said.
Hoppe said that he is planning to move to an apartment and that he wishes he had chosen to live on South Campus rather than in Granville. "It's a fantastic location, but it's only so good when your friends don't want to be here."
Student leaders said socioeconomic issues and an active campus community contribute to a pattern of minority students choosing to live on campus while white students move off campus.
Brad Picot, vice president of the Black Student Movement, said there are a lot of reasons students of all races want to live on campus.
Picot said living on campus is convenient socially because students are close to their friends and academically because they are close to classes and libraries.
Jamil Jeffries, a freshman who lives in Hinton James Residence Hall, said he likes living on South Campus because it is convenient and gives him many opportunities to meet people.
"It's hard to meet people who have the same interests if you don't live on campus," Jeffries said.
Picot said students who live on South Campus their freshman year often become engaged in the community and decide not to move off campus.
"A lot of people are very active on campus, and it's easier to be involved if you live on campus," he said.
But Picot said he believes socioeconomics might be the deciding factor in where students choose to live. "People come from different socioeconomic backgrounds," he said. "More white students can afford to live off campus."
Living on campus is often the most affordable option for students. On-campus students are charged $2,170 for room and pay an average of $2,760 for board per year.
Picot said he thinks a lot of minority students would like to live off campus but cannot afford to make the change.
Besides the additional costs of housing and food that off-campus students incur, there are often other hidden expenses like the need to own a car, Picot said.
Officials said few formal programs are in place to address racial distribution in housing. David Cooper, president of the Residence Hall Association, said that although RHA does not specifically encourage minorities to live on campus, the group sponsors diversity programming every year, including race-related forums and events co-sponsored with the BSM.
Payne also said housing officials make no special effort to encourage minority students to live on campus. He said it would be impossible for officials to alter the balance of minority students because they do not know the race of students who apply for on-campus housing.
"Applications have no reference to race, so there is no way we know."
Payne said he cannot explain why a higher percentage of minorities choose to live on campus.
But Payne said that although officials do not market to students in the traditional sense, they try to remain desirable for all students, regardless of race.
"I think we do compare favorably to the University in terms of the diversity of the students living on campus," Payne said. "But that's driven by students who are interested in living on campus. That's not anything we manufacture."
The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.
