Homeless in Manhattan

I got an internship. It took 78 letters to alumni, 107 cover letters and 106 rejection letters. For two whole months earlier this semester, I didn't go out on Friday nights. I wrote cover letters. And at the end, I started to like it.

I started to talk in packaged little bits about my life. "Hello, I'm Melody Kramer and a junior at the University of Pennsylvania where I study creative writing," I told my new dentist in March. "Please feel free to contact me if you require further information or would like to schedule an interview."

"What the hell are you talking about?" he replied. "What further information?"

So then, three weeks ago, the day I told my mother I was quitting writing and becoming a lawyer, I found out I got a job -- in New York City. All I needed now was a place to live. My parents requested that I find a nice, safe dorm room somewhere in Manhattan so that they didn't have to worry. No problem, I told them.

No cover letters, no resumes, no whoring myself to every magazine up and down the eastern seaboard, I thought. This would be a piece of cake compared to the hellish application process.

I was wrong. I was rejected from more summer housing locations than magazines. And as much as I'm sure I would enjoy my four-hour daily commute to Manhattan from Cherry Hill, N.J., I don't plan to give up the search anytime soon.

And that's when I realized that I shouldn't even have to look for housing in New York City. Penn should.

Penn should set up a program with universities in other cities to guarantee summer housing so that students don't have to sleep on benches or rooftops. Or, even better, Penn should invest in apartment buildings in cities where many students receive internships -- like New York, Washington, Boston, L.A. and Chicago -- that would be guaranteed for Penn student use during the summers. Apartments could be rented during the school year for use by other university students. It makes sense as both a short- and long-term economic investment because real estate returns initial investments rather quickly, especially in competitive markets.

It would also ensure that students can successfully look for employment opportunities in cities other than Philadelphia and their original hometowns. It would take away one gigantic piece of the puzzle preventing students from looking outside of their comfort zones for internship and job placement. Penn is always encouraging us to get hands-on expertise in our field of interest. Unfortunately, I found hands-on expertise, but if I don't find a place to sleep at night, I won't be able to take the position, meaning I will never be able to contribute large amounts to Penn's endowment fund. And then the Kramer College House will never be more than a pipe dream.

Ironically, if I were going to study abroad this summer, Penn would provide me with a place to live, in a safe location central to educational and cultural activities. I don't see why Penn cannot have similar programs set up with housing in cities across this country. I don't have time or resources to jet across the country and look at potential apartments. I already spent that money on stamps and envelopes and resume paper.

College senior Imanni Wilkes agrees. "If Career Services employed someone to assist students with housing, instead of e-mails about internships for one-legged jugglers from Hong Kong, Penn would have a stronger and more effective alumni network in all major cities," she said. "It's not enough that we get that high-powered law firm job. We must also try not to be hobos."

Imanni makes a good point. Penn does not assist students with housing, aside from pointing us to links online. But as every good apartment-renter knows, it is necessary to see an apartment before purchasing. Flying to Chicago to see an apartment is not only expensive, it is unnecessary. More importantly, taking housing out of the equation reduces the amount of existential crises that Penn students face during their college careers.

I really, really want to take this internship and work in New York this summer. Penn already helped me get the internship, but I really don't want to live like the pigeon lady from Home Alone 2 in Central Park. I'd like a roof, and toilet, and sink, if possible. I don't even care if the buildings are fixer-uppers. After all, I live in Harnwell.

Melody Joy Kramer is a junior English major from Cherry Hill, N.J. Perpendicular Harmony appears on Wednesdays.

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