Off-campus housing residents discuss student safety

For students attending ETSU, housing options extend well beyond the university’s residence halls and buildings to apartments and living complexes throughout the Johnson City area. 

University Edge, Student Quarters and Evergreen Terrace Apartments are all living complexes that house a variety of ETSU students. While some of these housing locations are relatively close to ETSU, several even in walking distance, living off-campus presents additional safety measures that many students consider when deciding where to sign their leases. 

University Edge Apartments

University Edge Apartments is aptly named, located half a mile away from ETSU’s main campus. Although it’s not exclusively a complex for college students, most of the residents at University Edge do attend ETSU, with their business marketed directly towards students. 

“The lifestyle at University Edge offers the environment ETSU students crave! With success, community, and individuality in mind, we ensure each resident has the most enjoyable college experience possible,” University Edge states on their website. 

The atmosphere at the apartments is certainly what one might expect from a living complex that is mostly populated by college students, with ETSU student and University Edge resident Hannah Ireland describing the area as, “either quiet or extremely lively depending on the day.” 

While many residents commented on the occasional party scene that can be found at the apartment on weekends, all agreed that it did not affect how they felt about the overall safety of living there. 

“I feel very safe at University Edge and have never had any problems while living here. My car has never been broken into while I’ve been parked at the apartments, and my roommates and I feel safe to leave the door unlocked if we’re stepping out to take the trash or walk the dog,” said Claire Webb, student and resident. 

As far as additional safety measures go, resident and student Sam Robinson stated, “I personally never have to worry about safety, but they could maybe put a fence by the section of sidewalk that faces the main road.”

“I would definitely recommend them adding cameras to the property,” Ireland added. 

University Edge management responded to an email to plan an interview. They did not respond to any questions.

Evergreen Terrace

Evergreen Terrace Apartments provides over six different locations with nine apartment styles for ETSU students and residents of Johnson City to reside in. Two of their main locations are located directly across the street from ETSU’s Basler Challenge Course. As many of the off-campus housing facilities are across Johnson City, Evergreen Terrace is not limited to student residents.

“Close to awesome, far from boring,” is the first thing viewers see posted on their website. Residents would agree with the slogan, as many find that Evergreen Terrace is uneventful compared to stories heard throughout Johnson City.

Carolyn Trent, a senior at ETSU, has lived at one of the Evergreen Terrace apartment complexes on S. Greenwood Drive for three years.

“I have never had concerns other than like, you know, if I’m home alone, like you hear creaking a lot from neighbors and stuff,” said Trent. “But, like, never anything real.”

She said that she takes precautions when in her apartment such as ensuring the door is locked and the blinds are shut, especially at night. 

“For me, the biggest thing is trying not to linger at night,” said Trent. “I try not to stay in my car for too long, like I pretty much will park, and then check the surroundings and then just go straight to my door.”

Trent said she follows the same rules on-campus, especially when coming out of night classes. If she has parked in the parking garage near Warf-Pickel Hall, she will “get in and get out.”

“I don’t see security as often during the day, but they do have a night patrol that will go through all the parking lots,” said Trent. “There have been times where someone has stopped me, while having a conversation on the phone outside, and checked on me, because I was walking around the parking lot like that.”

Trent said following an incident on the night of New Years’ Eve at Monarch Apartments, Evergreen reached out to their residents reminding them of safety precautions. She said that the reminder included things such as locking car doors, front doors and keeping blinds shut.

She said that the weirdest thing that she has witnessed while on the property was someone rummaging through the on-site dumpsters. Aside from that, Trent said that her neighbors are extremely active and are always looking out for each other.

At Evergreen Terrace Apartments, the property manager, Davina Farmer, stated that Evergreen emphasizes the importance of the staff and interaction with the tenants.

“We do what we can,” said Farmer. “We can try.”

Farmer gave her phone for the residences to either text or call her at any time of day. She does not send out texts to the residences unless it is an emergency, like freezing or tornado warnings. Farmer said that Evergreen does not have a line to what happens at Monarch, ETSU or any other safety texts. She has to find out when the general public does. However, she said that the staff at Evergreen talks with JCPD as much as they can. 

Evergreen has a nightly patrol called Property Monitors, who monitor the apartments from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. They deal with all domestic disputes within the apartments. Since Evergreen is not a private property, they are not called a private security. 

“They are the middle man between the police and residences,” said Farmer. 

When an urgent matter happens, such as when a resident has to call the police, the property monitors call Farmer, who will call the resident immediately. The whole process takes about 10 minutes from the call to the police. 

The Property Monitors make sure that a car has either a residence stickers or temporary stickers. 

Evergreen has cameras in the community areas and parking lots. They record without sound, and the footage is saved for seven to 10 days. They are not monitored for the privacy of the residences. 

Farmer talked about how they wanted to increase security and upgrades in Spring 2023 for the residences to feel safer. She met with her staff at the beginning of the year to improve on their current safety.

“What is the status quo and what needs to change,” said Farmer. 

Student Quarters

Located just steps away from ETSU on Seminole Drive, Student Quarters claims to be, “The best Johnson City student living,” per their website. While many residents of Student Quarters love their living space, some students feel as though with current local safety situations, more needs to be done concerning their safety. 

One student, Taylor Lipford, expressed her wariness that she believes someone has entered her apartment without her knowing recently. 

“We have had a feeling someone has come into our apartment, but we are not 100% sure. However, we do know that one of our neighbor’s cars was broken into.”

When asked about safety concerning this issue, Lipford stated, “To improve safety, I would have cops and even security here going around the grounds at night and even during the day.”

Lipford also stated she recently purchased a camera for the outside of her apartment. 

Recently, Student Quarters had a water leak that was damaging to many students’ apartments. Student Jennifer Emert recalled her recent experience. 

“I live on the fourth floor of Student Quarters. On Friday, Feb. 3, around 3 p.m. I was cleaning my bathroom when I heard running water. When I walked out of my bathroom, I noticed water soaking into my bedroom carpet. The water had reached five feet into my room at this point.”

She began to try and call management, but could get no response. 

“I immediately tried to call emergency maintenance and was caught in a loop of automated prompts, such as, ‘If you’re calling about leasing, press one. If you’re calling to make a payment, press two.’ No one was answering the phone, and the water was still flooding the hallway, my bedroom and my roommate’s bedroom.”

She and another resident went to the leasing office and the workers called maintenance, but she said they did not make the emergency situation seem important. 

“The office workers called maintenance for us, but there was no urgency in their voice. They were very nonchalant about the situation, which frustrated me even more than I already was. It felt like they didn’t care.”

Student Quarters arranged for students to live in a hotel until the repairs could be made, at the Days Inn and Suites by Wyndham, located at 2406 North Roan Street. The hotel has an average 2.6 rating, according to Google Reviews.

“Student Quarters did arrange for affected residents to stay in hotel rooms until everything was fixed. Student Quarters said we would only be displaced for a few days. It has been two weeks. I was informed the flooring in my apartment was being replaced Feb. 17, but I haven’t been back to my apartment to verify.” 

Student Quarters management did not respond to comment.

Other apartment complexes like Monarch Apartments and Reserve at Johnson City did not respond for an interview. London Living also declined an interview.