(__The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, November 23, 1993 - 3
'U' offers services, advice for off-campus housing 'OSNGQESIN
Here are some questions
Ann Arbor Tenants' Union, Student Legal Services try to make the big move a little easier for students
By DAWN TAMIR
FOR THE DAILY
"Housing is a right, not a privi-
lege," is one of the many sayings deco-
rating the office of the Ann Arbor Ten-
ants Union (AATU) in the Michigan
Union.
The time of year has arrived when
many students are friintically search-
ing for a place to live next year. It is
especially trying for students who will
be signing their very first lease, and
probably their first legal contract.
Signing a lease can be extremely
intimidating as students who may not
completely understand the contract feel
obligated to sign it.
"Students fall into the trap of seeing
landlords as authority figures, when
it's just another consumerrelationship,"
said AATU coordinator Pattrice
Maurer.
It may notoccur to some students to
negotiate or question the landlord.
"(Students) inaccurately assume
anything written in a lease is valid, and
that you have to abide by it," Maurer
said.
Students should be aware of illegal
fees and clauses put in a lease. Clean-
ing fees and termination clauses are
particularly questionable and should
be watched closely. Response to re-
pairs and security deposits can also
become areas of dispute.
"Cleaning fees out of a security
deposit are baldly illegal. Cleaning fees
in general are of questionable legality,"
Maurer said.
Problems and questions such as
these should be brought immediately
to the AATU or to Student Legal Ser-
vices (SLS), with offices also located
in the Union.
The SLS represents students in land-
lord/tenant disputes. SLS does every-
thing from giving advice and referrals
to actually representing students in court
- free of charge.
Out of the 2,000 cases SLS handles
each year, one third are landlord/tenant
disputes.
SLS Director Doug Lewis cautioned
students to make sure their roommate
fulfills the terms of the lease. If not,
"students can end up with financial
hardships. People should swap driver
license numbers or social security num-
bers to be able to find them when they
leave," he said.
He added that every roommate
should sign the lease. If only one per-
son signs, only one person is respon-
sible. Parents are not responsible un-
less they signed the lease.
Lewiswamedthatroommates' hab-
its could become a potential problem
and should be discussed before signing
a lease.
Another suggestion he offered to
students is to put everything in writing
and not rely on a landlord's or
roommate's word.
"It's a smart way to do business.
And that's what this is all about ...
business," Lewis said.
Maurer said students should take
their time choosing housing. Units are
not scarce and students should not let
landlords deceive them into believing
they are, she added. It is a violation of
the ConsumerProtection Act foraland-
lord to cause a false sense of duress,
and to pressure students into signing a
lease.
"The vacancy rate is high and don't
forget to remind your landlord of that,"
Maurer said. "The rents go down the
closer it gets to September."
Lewis added, "Don't listen to empty
promises. Take a more active role and
your problems with your landlord will
virtually disappear."
The AATU distributes a quarterly
newsletter called the Tenant's Voice,
which gives students the tools and in-
formation to choose suitable housing.
AATU distributes other materials
and offers formal and informal walk-in
counseling.
students should ask when
considering livingoff-campus:
1. How much is the rent? How
much is the security deposit?
2. Are utilities included in the
rent? If not, what is the
average cost of heating?
3. Are there any fees in
addition to the rent? What will
these fees be used for?
4. Are laundry facilities and
parking available? How much
(if anything) do they cost? Is a
parking sticker required?
5. Are pets allowed? If so, is:
there a fee or rent increase?
6. Is the unit furnished?
7. How long is the term lease?
When can you move in? What
is the last day of occupancy?
8. Does the building have a
security system?
Mussolini
heir runs
for Italian
govenment
ROME (AP) - Instead of black
shirts, the wear business suits and de-
signer clothes. They write off violent
skinheads as "empty heads" yet march
;through central Rome giving the stiff-
-armed Fascist salute.
They also proclaim themselves the
heirs of Benito Mussolini and his Fas-
cist movement.
After years out in the cold, consid-
ered pariahs by many on Italy's politi-
cal scene, supportefs of the Italian So-
cial Movement achieved their biggest
electoral success Sunday.
In local elections that produced
sharp setbacks to discredited main-
stream parties, the Italian Social Move-
*ment was the top vote-getter in Rome
and Naples. Its candidates will be in
mayoral runoff elections in both cities.
Other MSI candidates did well else-
where in the country.
AlessandraMussolini, the dictator's
30-year-old granddaughter, won about
30 percent of the Naples vote to force a
runoff with a leftist candidate, accord-
ing to projections and partial returns.
The race in Rome was even closer,
with the party's national leader,
Gianfranco Fini, reported just slightly
behind another leftist candidate.
Mussolini, a former actress, has not
denied that identification with her
grandfather brought her votes.
Speaking to reporters after Sunday's
election, she emphasized that point,
saying the name "represents immortal
U.S. Senate hopeful addresses students
Mussolini
values that cannot be canceled."
The MSI has 50 seats in Parliament
and consistently gathered about 6 per-
cent of the national vote. But it has long
been shunned by the traditional parties.
Italy's postwar constitution bans
the revival of the Fascist Party. But the
city of Rome has allowed some
Mussolini-era buildings to remain and
an obelisk bearing the name "Duce,"
his title as dictator.
Mussolini ruled from 1922 until he
was ousted from power in 1943 and
slain.
The MSI platform stresses the need
for public order, controls on immigra-
tion and the death penalty, outlawed
since World War II, for certain crimes.
Alessandra Mussolini often pays
tribute to her grandfather, praising him
for restoring pride in Italians. She has
taken issue with his racial laws that
foreshadowed the deportation of Jews
to Nazi concentration camps.
In the Rome race, Fini worked hard
at a mainstream approach and attrib-
uted much of his success to his show-
ing in poorer areas of the capital.
Pollack discusses
discrimination
against women in
politics
By AMY MENSCH
FOR THE DAILY
Michigan State Sen. Lana Pollack
is a woman who is not afraid to speak
her mind.
In a speech titled, "Women and the
Law," Pollack addressed an audience
of about 30 people last night, discuss-
ing problems facing women in politics
and her desire to rise above the dis-
crimination that exists in her chosen
career.
"There is a sense of abnormality
that is still evident in the state Senate
and it is a little less evident in the U.S.
Senate, but it still exists," Pollack said.
She said many men, especially older
men, are notcomfortable with her serv-
ing in her elected position because they
do not feel comfortable fighting with
women about politics and in the legis-
lature.
Pollack said she looks forward to
the day when women and the law is no
longer an issue.
"Although things have changed in
a generation, we still have our feet in
two different worlds - one where
women are viewed as people, and one
where women are treated as objects
and children," she said.
Pollack, who describes herself as
"outspoken," said she feels she is less
accepted in politics because she is a
woman.
Pollack also spoke about her cam-
paign for the U.S. Senate, which started
in August.
Although Pollack is confident she
will win the election, she wants a strong
presence on this campus.
"Every voter is as important as the
next," she said. "And our biggest chal-
lenge will be to get students to be
involved in the campaign and to vote in
the election."
Pollack said she wants people to be
actively involved in her campaign and
help in a way that is meaningful to
themselves.
Ifelectedtothe U.SSenate,Pollack
said she hopes "to represent my values
and my constituents."
She said she also expects to work
with the five other democratic women
senators on women's issues, budget
discipline in the Senate, jobs, health
care and finding ways to stop the vio-
lence against women and children that
plagues society.
Ben Reames, an RC junior, is cur-
rently organizing "Students for Lana
Pollack," acampus group that will help
with the campaign.
Reames, who proudly claims that
he has been a longtime supporter of
Pollack said he was impressed by her
words.
"She had demonstrated a real bril-
liance in speaking to the audience in
great detail about law and history al-
though she is not a lawyer," Reames
said.
Reames added "(Pollack) does not
gloss over the issues. When there is
conflict she confronts it and wants dis-
cussion. This came out tonight in the
way she talked about women in politics
and the way men in politics are uncom-
fortable with it."
First-year Law student Laura
Cerasoli said shethoughtPollack spoke
intelligently.
Cerasoli said, "She's going to be a
great voice for women if she is elected
to the Senate."
MADD asks drivers to
'tie one on' for safetyg
MARK FRIEDMAN/Daily
State Sen. Lana Pollack speaks to students at the Law school yesterday,
addressing the problems faced by women in who run for public office.
Cinton looks forward to
global free-trade agreement
LANSING (AP) - The big red
ribbons that herald the winter holidays
have a deeper meaning for parents
whose children have been killed in
alcohol-related accidents.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving is
asking motorists "to tie one on" their
automobiles this Christmas season and
pledge to drive safe and sober.
"It will give people that visual
awareness. Every time you see a red
ribbon on a car that person has prom-
ised not to drink and drive," said Jenny
Tomaszewski, Wayne County volun-
teer coordinator for MADD. "I hope
people take heed so my son and others
won't have died in vain."
Tomaszewski's 18-year-old son,
Alex, was killed in 1988 when his car
,was rear-ended by a drunken driver.
She joined more than 150 parents
* and law enforcement officials at the
state Capitol yesterday to kick off
MADD's eighth annual "Tie One On
for Safety Campaign."
In 1992, 502 of Michigan's 1,297
traffic deaths - 39 percent - were
alcoholrelated,thestateOfficeofHigh-
way Safety Planning estimated. Alco-
hol was involved in eight of the 20 fatal
accidents over last Thanksgiving, four
of 21 accidents during Christmas and
nine of 22 traffic fatalities during the
New Year's holiday.
Last year more than 2.5 million red
ribbons were distributed statewide.
"Law enforcement alone cannot
solve the problem," said Col. Michael
Robinson, director of the Michigan
State Police. "It's absolutely essential
that public information and education
remain a key component of any traffic
safety campaign."
The red ribbon ceremony opened
AP PHOTO
Michigan State Police Director Michael Robinson speaks in Lansing
yesterday at a kickoff for "Red Ribbon," the Mothers Against Drunk Driving-
sponsored holiday public awareness campaign.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Presi-
dent Clinton has less than a m onth to
strike a global free-trade agreement
while coping with demands from an-
gry French farmers, upset Brazilian
citrus growers and furious textile
workers just about everywhere.
The president and others in the
administration are professing opti-
mism they can overcome all these
obstacles and complete the Uruguay
Round of trade talks by a Dec. 15
deadline. Those negotiations are be-
ing held under the auspices of the
Geneva-based General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade, the organization
that governs world trade.
U.S. Trade Representative Mickey
Kantor sat down yesterday with his
European counterpart, Sir LeonBrittan.
The United States and the 12-na-
tion European Community hoped to
resolve differences on a range of is-
sues separating them during the talks
yesterday and today. They include
farm subsidies and tariffs on textiles,
and other manufactured goods and
European barriers to American-made
films and television shows.
Economists say the stakes for the
Uruguay Round are enormous. Nei-
ther the United States nor the EC
showed any willingness to compro-
mise as this week's talks began.
The United States insisted it will
never yield to a French demand that it
renegotiate provisions of a deal
reached a year ago to reduce the use of
farm subsidies.
And the Europeans complained
about U.S. refusal to make further
concessions to cut high American tar-
iffs on Third World textile products.
The Clinton administration insists
that its come-from-behind victory on
the North American Free Trade Agree-
ment, creating a free-trade zone link-
ing the United States, Mexico and
Canada, will give it the momentum
needed to wrap up the global talks.
NAFTA "gives us momentum and
a sense of real progress in breaking
down barriers," Kantor declared.
Others contend that the deals the
administration was forced to make to
get NAFTA through Congress will
make it harder to complete the Uru-
guay Round.
with patriotic songs sung by Calhoun
County high school students who sup-
polt drug and alcohol education. A
motorcade of police and sheriff cruis-
ers from Ingham, Clare, Washtenaw
and Eaton counties followed.
Maureen Baiz, founder and presi-
dent Jackson County's MADD, urged
adults to watch forteenagers who drink
too much and try to drive.
Baiz recalled the death of her 16-
year-old daughter in 1987.
"Laurie had been at a Halloween
party and shortly after leaving, she hit
a semi head-on," Baiz said. "I would
rather have had Laurie in jail over-
night and facing court fines than to be
visiting her in the cemetery."
Student groups
O Arab-American Students As-
sociation, Arabic conversation
hour, Arabic House, Oxford, 7
p.m.
O Christian Science Organiza-
tion, weekly, meeting, Michi-
gan League, check room at front
desk, 7 p.m.
O Gospel Chorale Rehearsal,
331 Thompson St. Q Poetry Reading: Richard
0 Rowing Team, Novice practice, Elman, sponsored by the En-
boathouse, men 3,4 and 5 p.m.; glish department, Rackham
women 3:30, 4:30, 5:30 p.m. Amphitheater, 4 p.m.
Q Recent Developments in China
Events and Sino-US Relations,
Q Brown Bag Lunch Series, spon- speaker: Kenneth Lieberthal,
sored by the Center for Chinese sponsored by Center for Chi-
Studies, Kin Availability and nese Studies, Lane Hall Com-
Support for the Elderly in Tai- mons, noon.
ATTENTION
ADVERTISERS
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