Bwog is definitely a cat person.

On Wednesday, Eric Klinenberg, author of Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone, came to speak about his new book and the trend of single living sweeping America. Future Cat Lady, Claire Friedman, was in attendance.

Going to a lecture about a book entitled Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone, I expected to emerge full of vaguely depressing life tips (how to zip up a dress by yourself, how many cats is too many cats, etc.). I was pleasantly surprised, however, when the lecture took a more sociological turn and focused on living alone as a rising social trend instead of an upsetting reality. The author, Eric Klinenberg, spoke about today’s unique social situation that has more people “going solo” than ever before.

According to Klinenberg, one out of seven Americans lives alone. In cities, the numbers are much higher, reaching almost 50% in major metropolitan areas. For anyone who’s ever felt like they’re the only one of their friends who’s not part of a couple, this statistic might seem strange. After all, doesn’t the “American Dream” include a spouse, 2.5 children, and a white picket fence? Klinenberg debunked this myth within the first five minutes of his lecture, saying that America’s “dream” of the nuclear family is simply a remnant from a different time. In today’s more urban America, more and more people are choosing to live alone.

(more…)

The following email was forwarded to Bwog:

From: Residential Life & Housing <housing@barnard.edu>
Date: Wed, Aug 8, 2012 at 11:58 AM
Subject: Important email re: your Plimpton room assignment
Dear [redacted]

We are writing to you today because you are a resident of ##A# Plimpton (a corner room) with difficult news to share so close to the start of the semester. As you may have heard, Barnard is experiencing a significant housing shortage for the upcoming academic year. We currently have over 80 students for whom we have no vacant spaces in our residence halls. The combination of a higher yield rate, fewer housing cancellations, and a significantly higher number of housing applications have all contributed to our shortage this year.

Since many of the students who we are unable to house come from outside of the tri-state area, we are trying to create additional residence hall space to house as many of these students as possible. One way in which the College will accomplish this is by changing the occupancy of your Plimpton room from a single to a double room. We understand that this change is unexpected and may be difficult. After a thorough review of all other options, the College has decided that this change in Plimpton is the best way to accomplish our goal of housing as many students for the Fall as possible.

(more…)