Some students are using domestic partnerships as a way to get around a requirement to live on campus for the first three years at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, according to reports.
The Berkeley Beacon, Emerson's student newspaper, reported that students are dodging the nearly $20,000 per year price tag to live on campus, which doesn't include tuition. Among several exemptions to that housing requirement includes a domestic partnership that is recognized by the state of Massachusetts.
To acquire a domestic partnership in Boston, couples are required to fill out a form and declare several qualifications, including that they share basic living expenses, are each other’s only domestic partner and that they are responsible for each other’s well-being.
Emerson College has since placed a temporary pause on the domestic partnership exemption, according to the Berkeley Beacon.
Get New England news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NECN newsletters.
The Office of Housing and Residential Education to the college paper that it is to allow time to further examine individual requests and clarify the legitimate parameters of the exemption.
