And I get it, and the value. But most people would be better served with an alternative system.
I'd amend this to "the possibility of friendship".
I'll add that I got a professional friendship from college that's lasted sixteen years so far - very much the kind of thing the GP was talking about.
Both of us were commuters doing the last two years of our degrees at a commuter school.
We didn't need to pay for dorms to meet each other and develop friendships.
And I get it, and the value. But most people would be better served with an alternative system.