Give us democracy!

The housing requirements for Piedmont College are absolutely rediculous and show that this college is not a democracy encouraging young adults to grow. The college takes great measures to see that every student gets the "college experience," but at a small school like Piedmont College, there is no such as thing as college life. Large schools that are located in what is considered to be college towns, such as the University of Georgia in Athens have a booming atmosphere with a wide variety of activities. However, many students have called the campus of Piedmont College a ghost town, claiming that at times it is very hard to find stuff to do. Students who live in Habersham, Banks, Hall, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, or White County are allowed to attend Piedmont as commuters; but if you live father then that premises, and are under 21 and single, you are required to live in the dorm. Last fall, I had a knee injury and required surgery, I had major complications with the surgery and it was a month before I could walk again. I asked the college if I could live at home in Gwinnett County and commute for remainder of the semester. But Piedmont College put their foot down and said I would not be able to get any kind of refund for my room and was required to keep it. This was an outrage being that I was very dependent on my mother to help me with every day things.
Another thing Piedmont College enforces with an iron fist is the meal plan for resident students. All students living on campus are required to have a meal plan which pays for 3 meals a day, 7 days a week. I myself am a very picky eater and do not like most of the food served in the cafeteria. I would prefer to buy my own food from the grocery store and keep it in my refrigerator rather then buying the meal plan. I also am constantly on the go, and many days my meals are just grab-and-go type things from my refrigerator. The meal plan at Piedmont College is very expensive, and the food is very cheap. Each meal covered on the meal plan is the equivelancy of a meal at Red Lobster. At the University of Georgia, students living on campus are allowed to choose from a variety of meal plans. Students can choose a plan which allows them to eat one meal a day, three meals a day, or no meal in the cafeteria. Piedmont College claims that they require students to have a full meal plan because they are worried students will not eat and may become mal-nurished. They say eating disorders become a huge problem for many college students; well, college is a time for a young adult to learn how to take care of his or herself, if a young adult doesn't realize that he or she needs to eat, he or she should not be at college. Piedmont College needs to offer more living arrangement options for students interested in attending the school, and it would draw the interest of many more students.