begin to
accept applications
and deposits during the fall
semester.
For
many
freshmen,
the
search for off-campus housing
can begin only a few months into
their college careers and can
present many obstacles for those
unfamiliar with the ins and outs of
securing and negotiating housing
contracts.
“We’ve been working really
hard to correct a misperception
that you have to rush and be in a
hurry to make a decision about
your housing for the subsequent
year,” she said. “We’re working
really hard with landlords and
city officials to make it more
comfortable for you to know, at
whatever time of the year is right
for you, that you will be able to find
housing that works for you.”
LSA
sophomore
Mikaela
Uddfolk said she signed a lease by
the end of October of her freshman
year. Uddfolk, who is currently
living in an off-campus apartment,
said due to her plans to study
abroad next year, the process has
been significantly less stressful
compared to
her freshman year.
“I’m planning on finding
a sublease for next year,” she said.
“If I was just starting to look into
housing now, to actually sign a
lease, I think I’d be pretty stressed
out.”
Uddfolk said it would be
helpful if the University included
information about the housing
search during orientation so new
students could be better prepared
for it.
Among the other speakers at
the event was Gayle Rosen, an
attorney working for Student
Legal Services, the University’s
law office for students. Rosen is
in charge of advising students
in negotiating their leases and
housing contracts.
“We do anything from renewing
leases to helping you with security
deposits, as well as helping you deal
with construction, noise, eating
issues, air conditioning issues and
permitting
emotional support
animals,” Rosen said.
The event also included a
question and answer session with
student
representatives
from
Beyond the Diag, the university’s
program intended to “improve
off-campus
safety
resources,
communication, and education for
UM students.” Jones specifically
referred to the program in her
comments, citing the support they
provide to undergraduates.
“A lot of people think their
problem or concern is a little too
personal or specific to them,”
Jones explained. “I want you to
know that our help can be very
personalized to your needs. If you
With the midterm elections
just around the corner, the
University of Michigan chapter
of
College
Democrats,
the
Roosevelt Institute and the
Michigan
Affordability
and
Advocacy Coalition hosted
a
panel
Monday
night
to
discuss
and explain Proposal A to
University
students
at
the
Ford School of Public Policy.
Panel members included Mayor
Chris Taylor, Councilmember
Zack
Ackerman,
D-Ward
3, and Public Policy Kellie
Lounds, president of College
Democrats.
Proposal A was introduced
following the City Council’s
approvalof the Library Lot
development in June, with
plans of creating a 17-story
commercial
development
complex
on
top
of
the
711
Underground
Parking
Structure in downtown Ann
Arbor. The building would
include 43 affordable housing
units,
office
spaces,
hotel
rooms and a public plaza. If
passed, Proposal A would reject
these development plans, and
instead, propose the city builds
an additional urban park and
civic center commons.
The panelists argued the $5
million price tag of this park
could
instead
be
allocated
towards
affordable
housing,
which,
according
to
the
panelists, is a more pressing
and relevant issue. Ackerman
said with this new privately-
owned complex, students or
Ann Arbor residents
that
use
federal
housing
vouchers to pay their rent
would be able to live in the
central downtown area, rather
than on the outskirts of the
city.
“If we truly
want to
remain a diverse and inclusive
community,
housing
is
the
crux of this entire equation,”
Ackerman said.
Ackerman said this complex
would bridge the gap between
the adult population in the Main
Street area with the student
population in the State Street
Students and faculty gathered
in Palmer Commons at the
University of Michigan Monday
morning to listen to panelists
describe the origins and mission
of
the
Boycott,
Divestment
and Sanctions movement. The
movement has always been a
contentious issue on campus,
but has become a rising issue
recently
after
a
Graduate
Student
Instructor
and
a
professor
declined
to
write
letters of recommendation for
students hoping to study abroad
in Israel last month.
The panel was hosted by
the Center for Middle Eastern
and
North
African
Studies.
CMENAS
director
Samer
Mahdy Ali opened up the event,
first recognizing the tragedy
of the shooting at the Tree of
Life synagogue in Pittsburgh
this past weekend. Ali then
noted
some
people
might
As
students
begin
the
search
for
their
housing
arrangements for next year,
the University of Michigan’s
Central Student Government
held a town hall Monday night
to address the challenges of
finding off-campus housing.
CSG
president
Daniel
Greene, a Public Policy senior,
began the town hall discussing
the dynamics of student and
landlord relationships.
“A lot of students blindly
sign
their
lease,”
Greene
said. “They don’t know the
information they should look
out for, and a lot of students
find themselves unsure of
what to do when they have a
conflict with their landlord
or
housing
management
company.”
Dean of Students Laura
Blake Jones followed Greene,
going
into
further
detail
about
the
resources
that
are
available
to
students
searching
for
help.
The
University offers resources
including Tenant Rights and
Responsibilities
materials,
Student Legal Services for
issues with landlords and
more.
“We’re
committed
to
making sure that when you
move off campus and go into
residential environments that
you have those that are among
the highest quality,” Jones
said.
According
to
Jones,
now is a stressful time for
students, as many landlords
Ann
Arbor’s
highly
partisan
local
elections
make it an outlier among
cities in Michigan, and City
Councilmember Jane Lumm,
I-Ward 2, wants to change
that.
According to Lumm, only
two other cities in Michigan
— Ionia and Ypsilanti— have
partisan local elections, while
most have nonpartisan races,
meaning candidates do not
run as members of a particular
political
party.
She
also
noted that Ann Arbor’s usual
Officials
criticize A2
partisan
elections
Ann Arbor is one of
three cities in MI with
partisan local elections,
Lumm wants change
Experts on Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions
discuss origins and intent of movement
Speakers refute allegations of anti-Semitism against movement, emphasizing solidarity with Jews
MATT VAILLIENCOURT/Daily
Huwaida Arraf, a civil rights attorney and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement, discusses the BDS movement at a CMENAS Teach-In Town Hall
at Palmer Commons Monday morning.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 20
©2018 The Michigan Daily
N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
CL A S S I F I E DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
City Council members push to fail Prop A
Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor and Ann Arbor City Councilmember Zach Ackerman discuss how Proposal a will affect affordable housing in
Ann Arbor in Weill Hall Monday. SARAH KUNKEL/DAILY
The panel, which featured Mayor Taylor and Councilmember Ackerman, was hosted by College Democrats and the Roosevelt Institute
University is working with landlords, city government to
reduce rush in off-campus housing search
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
ELIZABETH LAWRENCE
Daily Staff Reporter
LEAH GRAHAM
Daily Staff Reporter
CAMPUS LIFE
ANN ARBOR
See ELECTIONS, Page 3A
See BOYCOTT, Page 3A
bring housing
concerns to CSG
town hall
BENJAMIN ROSENFELD
For the Daily
“We’ve been
working really
hard to correct a
misperception that
you have to rush
and be in a hurry
to make a decision”
ABBY TAKAS
For the Daily
See CSG, Page 3A
See COUNCIL, Page 2A
Students
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