Trend of luxury dorms
Tanning salons, shopping malls, and pool waterfalls are some of the facilities offered at colleges across the country, like Boston University's new 35-foot climbing wall. Sandy Baum, a senior analyst of higher education policy, says, "Students are driving the trend. It's not so much colleges wanting to be country clubs; it's students who want to live in country clubs." Some critics argue such grand accommodations distract students from college's real purpose. By making all these lovely things for the kids, we are answering that question for them." Not everyone agrees with the luxury-dorm enthusiasm.