In the end, it’s the MSU students who are being driven out.

Just take your pick of East Lansing redevelopment projects: The $750 million East Village project, which was first introduced a few years ago, would revamp the area between Bogue Street and Hagadorn Road — a major part being Cedar Village. Headed by a San Diego-based development firm, the final 965 housing units could cost about $575 to $700 per person, per month, depending on the number of bedrooms. Retail space also will be embedded in the area.

The Virginia Avenue project, expected to cost about $5.2 million, will provide single-family homes and townhouses that could cost $160,000 to $200,000, depending on the space. The project — affecting the 600 block of Virginia Avenue — was supposed to be completed early this year and has continually experienced snags when it comes to unexpected costs, deadlines and acquiring properties.

And now there’s the latest City Center II project, which would demolish rental housing along the 300 and 400 blocks of Evergreen Avenue to make way for residential, retail, office and parking space. The $117 million plan would include “high-end housing,” according to the city.

The projects are meant to maximize the housing and commercial potential with less space, but at prices many students can’t afford. In each case, student housing is — or will be — demolished to make way for more costly housing geared toward graduate students, young professionals and professors.

There’s nothing necessarily wrong with redevelopment. It’s the price students would have to pay to be a part of it that’s the trouble.

Most of us don’t have $575 to $700 to spend on rent per month. The student outcry over these projects comes from the fact that their homes are being demolished for places they aren’t meant to reside. How can we support something we can’t afford to be a part of?

Our living options are dwindling. Students are slowly being exiled to the outer reaches of the city, such as the Northern Tier and in family neighborhoods. But the farther away the city drives students, the more time and resources they need to get to campus.

Pretty soon it becomes an inconvenience to be in the MSU/East Lansing community if you’re a student.

And we have to wonder if that was the plan all along.

True, there are other parties affected by redevelopment. Permanent residents, the taxpayers, who loved living in the area also were sent packing. But these are the type of residents who will later benefit from the projects.

Perhaps the city fails to realize that part of the attraction of a campus town is the students. It’s the diversity, culture and energy we bring to this one area. There will always be a few who party too loudly and play beer pong in the street, but getting rid of all of us won’t solve every problem.

If students aren’t welcome in a college town, then what’s the point?