The Barometer Online

Issue date: 3/14/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Cory Reed Tristan Piper, the only son of OSU student Megan Piper, finishes off a piece of watermelon before playing outside. The Pipers live in Orchard Court Apartments, an on-campus family housing facility that is used specifically for student parents.

While swinging, 4-year-old Tristan talks all about his favorite dinosaurs and what will happen if his feet touch the ground.

"Crocodiles, you can't get me," he said as his mother, Megan Piper, pushed him.

"Sharks, crocodiles and dinosaurs are all he talks about," Piper said.

Piper, a single mother working toward a degree in psychology and the vice president of the Student Parent Association, lives with her son in the on-campus family housing located on Southwest 35th Street and Northwest Orchard Avenue in the Orchard Court Apartments.

"We are very happy here," she said.

Piper pays $435 a month for her two-bedroom apartment, which covers all the bills except for electricity.

"All the families are very nice here," Piper said. "There are a lot of kids here for Tristan to play with, and it is very safe."

When Piper first moved to Oregon from San Diego, Calif., she was put on a waiting list for on-campus family housing.

"We were told there was a six-month waiting list for an apartment, but we got our place in two months," Piper said. "I think the waiting list has become longer since I moved in."

Piper is originally from Bend, where she attended the OSU Cascades Campus. She then moved to San Diego with Tristan's father, who is a Marine. When things didn't work out with him, she started looking at different colleges to finish her bachelor's degree.

"OSU seemed to be the best for cost efficiency," Piper said. "They provided me with the best services."

Along with the apartments, there are also three play structures located around the apartments that are kept in good condition.

"Most of the families respect everything around here," she said. "During the summer the play structures can get destroyed because the kids are always out and keeping busy."

Next term Piper and her son will move again, but this time out of the country - to study in Spain for the term. Luckily, Piper will get to keep her apartment when she returns.

Continued...

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