I am writing to clarify some comments in Tuesday's article "Race and Residence: Housing Choices at UNC." While I did state that socioeconomic issues might be a reason for the disparity between white and black students living off campus, I do not feel it "is the deciding factor." Many students are able to find jobs enabling them to pay for the extra costs of off-campus housing. As acknowledged in the article, there are a variety of reasons why students choose not to live off campus; not all of them necessarily are a matter of race or background. I was also misquoted in stating "a lot of minority students would like to live off campus but cannot afford to make the change." I do feel, recognizing all of the factors, this may be one of many reasons why some minority students are not living off campus. It is also important to remember that not every minority student is in the same economic and financial situation. Thus it is challenging to make many generalizations.
Brad Picot
Vice President
BSM
