Originally Posted by
KonAaron Snake
I'd give the son an 80s rigid MTB for campus and keep the nice stuff in a garage/house. You can get a decent 80s MTB for well under $200 - problem solved.
+1. A friend of mine, in his 20's, still has fond memories of his campus commute with a department store Huffy. He's a big guy and probably tore it to pieces but it served its purpose, and this suggestion is a level up from that.
College campuses - most campuses - are unfortunately hotbeds of thievery these days. It would be literally pointless to risk anything really nice on a campus commute.