Petition for Ford graduate students to remain on the College Avenue Campus: Rutgers should offer Ford graduate student residents the option of remaining on College Avenue Campus in other suitable housing, single rooms. (There are 15 other housing halls on College Avenue Campus). Ford housing is our home and College Avenue Campus has become our hometown. We have developed ties in the community and developed our own close community within Ford, and we should not be dispersed throughout the widespread university (on the three other campuses) or neighboring communities unconnected to the life we have made for ourselves at Rutgers. Rutgers should support our ties to the College Avenue Campus and each other. Our reasons may vary, but living on College Avenue Campus is essential because it: -Allows us to most easily travel to other areas, especially NYC, Philadelphia, and Trenton via mass transit to pursue internships, cultural activities, jobs, and develop our careers. Moving to the other campuses would be a significant hardship to students who travel for their careers and education and who have made personal and career commitments predicated upon their living closest to mass transportation on College Avenue Campus. -Enhances our academic careers and future careers by allowing us to live near and even walk to our classes; interact with other students in related academic fields also taught on College Avenue Campus (which houses the largest school of Rutgers, The School of Arts and Sciences). It allows us to easily participate in academic office hours and other academic and cultural graduate student commitments. -Allows us to live take advantage of the Arts Center, the Civic Square, and the Health Care hubs of New Brunswick, and its essential resources such as the world class Zimmerli Art Museum, large public library, the Courthouse, the theater, even the post office, and participate in the numerous activities of downtown New Brunswick on a daily basis and enhance our educations and careers. -College Avenue Campus is the religious home to many diverse students and living on College Avenue supports and strengthens many residents’ religious and spiritual life. Spiritual ties have already been made with many of the neighborhood churches, synagogues or mosques. Downtown New Brunswick religious institutions include Kirkpatrick, Christ Church, Reformed Church and many other religions which are crucial to student religious lives. For example, many Jewish students must live on College Avenue Campus so that they may observe their religion, including only walking during the Jewish Sabbath and other numerous holiday services and it is essential to live on College Avenue to participate in the Jewish life on campus through both the Hillel and the Chabbad, both on College Avenue. (The only Kosher cafeteria is on College Avenue.) -Allows us to honor our commitments to activities, jobs, community service and leadership roles and all commitments we made based upon our home continuing to be on College Avenue Campus (many of us would have to withdraw from our ongoing commitments if we had to live further away), and to participate in the maximum number of activities including those now offered at the Rutgers Student Center and the College Avenue gymnasium with its sports classes and clubs, which are on College Avenue Campus. -Allows us to best utilize the resources of the Rutgers’ Cultural centers including: The Center for Cultural Analysis (Rutgers hub for interdisciplinary research in the humanities and humanistically-orientated social sciences is around the corner from Ford on Bishop Place.), and Center for Latinio Arts and Culture (CKAC), are all on the College Avenue Campus. Don’t banish us from College Avenue, it is the historic heart of Rutgers University, it is home to the School of Arts and Sciences, the largest school at Rutgers, with the most diverse academic departments. Close to 4,000 students live on College Avenue Campus. Please offer the Ford graduate students a place to live on College Avenue, the best campus for our education, careers and lives.