By Lea Abito | Staff Writer
Tucked away at the back of Florida International University’s Biscayne Bay Campus, Bayview Student Living is just as quiet as the campus and waterfront it resides on. Most students never set foot here, and even fewer know there’s housing available here.
The campus is about an hour-long, traffic-filled shuttle ride from the Modesto Maidique Campus, but it feels like a drive through a wormhole. When you arrive, it’s a whole new world, nothing like MMC, except for the school colors and panther statue.
The seclusion and unintentional secrecy make the housing a hidden gem, and to students who prefer quiet and simplicity over the bustling crowds and parking scuffles at MMC, Bayview is a godsend.
From the sky lounge to the outdoor pool and regularly hosted resident events, Bayview is a catch. But what makes Bayview even more special, especially in today’s university housing crisis, is that it is open to all students. There are no upperclassman cutoffs like at MMC.
It seems like paradise on earth for everyone willing to wake up to a picturesque view and the sun glittering through your window.
Until you walk up to the building at 10 p.m. and the front door is wide open. It happens more than you’d think.
Bayview’s access system uses blue key fobs for residents to enter the building, elevator, and main suite rooms, then standard keys for individual rooms and mailboxes. But the system is rendered useless when the front door is already open for anyone to enter, resident or not.
The only thing stopping it is a sign taped to the door.
A sign on Bayview’s front door requests that students close the door and not let strangers inside | Lea Abito, PantherNOW
Bayview’s “open door policy” welcomes many trespassers, especially after the front desk closes in the evening, despite the resident access system
Being a public campus on a waterfront near a state park doesn’t help.
An entrance to Oleta River State Park, Florida’s largest urban park, is near Bayview, which brings non-students and non-residents to the area. As great as it is to be close to a state park, you can’t deny the potential hazards.
The lack of security and someone at the front desk after 6 p.m. on weekdays and 4 p.m. on weekends also contributes to the problem. Occasionally, you’ll see FIU PD drive by or sit in the parking lot, but it’s not enough to make a substantial difference.
Along with the trespasser problem, Bayview faces a plethora of other security issues, including theft and property damage. Unfortunately, that’s common among student housing across the nation.
In 2021, there were about 23,400 on-campus reported criminal incidents. Of that, 44% were forcible sex offenses, 28% were burglaries, 15% were motor vehicle thefts, 9% were aggravated assaults, 2% were robberies, and 2% were arson.
Campus crime also increased 13% between 2022 and 2023, with Florida Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and the University of California-Berkeley having the highest overall crime rates.
FIU doesn’t make the list, but crime is not nonexistent on campus.
The FIU 2026 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report, which is required per the Clery Act, reported eight rapes, 10 burglaries, 112 motor vehicle thefts, and various other incidents in 2025. The Clery Center and ADT also reported that 82% of college students are concerned about their safety.
The sentiment is echoed at Bayview.
Campus crime may never be fully eliminated, but the least officials can do is ensure a door stays shut.
But the problem is that Bayview is technically off-campus housing, despite being at BBC. It is externally managed by Servitas, a property management firm, which means it is not regulated the same as other FIU housing.
Bayview’s resident lease does state that “unauthorized presence in, or unauthorized use of University property, facilities, or restricted areas is prohibited.” But it goes on to say, “the student is responsible for securing the assigned space at all times and taking such precautions as are necessary to guard his/her/their safety and property.”
This places a disproportionate amount of responsibility on students for safety matters that should be shared. The “assigned space” the lease refers to is under the Keys/Access ID cards section, which means “assigned space” would extend from the apartment to the front door because they are all accessed with the key fob.
Students are being asked to be responsible for parts of the building beyond their individual rooms and beyond their control.
To enhance security at Bayview, the solution may be to cut the external management company and treat Bayview as fully FIU-managed housing, holding it to the same standards as MMC housing.
Bayview is beautiful, but let’s keep it safe.
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The opinions presented on this page do not represent the views of the PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect the perspectives of contributing writers and/or university community members.
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