Ann
Arbor
rents
are
skyrocketing, according to recent
reports. The city’s rent is the
second fastest growing among
college towns.
Separate reports from rental
and real estate websites Zumper
and RENTCafé confirmed Ann
Arbor’s increasing rental rates.
Zumper examined the year-over-
year rental growth rates of 50
college towns around the country,
comparing the average rate for
one bedroom in 2019 to the rate
in 2018. With a year-over-year
rent increase of 15.9 percent, Ann
Arbor came in second following
Gainesville, Fla., the home of the
University of Florida and a 16.7
percent growth rate.
Ann
Arbor’s
average
one
bedroom rate has increased from
$850 in 2018 to $985 in 2019.
East Lansing also made it into
the top ten of the rankings — its
rent increased by 14.3 percent.
However, rent was lower in East
Lansing than in Ann Arbor,
increasing from $700 in 2018 to
$800 in 2019.
Social Work student Laura
Rall is president of Affordable
Michigan, a student organization
focusing on improving the quality
of life for lower-socioeconomic
status students at the University.
Rall attended the University as an
undergraduate student and has
noticed rent and housing costs
increasing during her time in Ann
Arbor each year.
“After
living
here
for
six
years, I’ve definitely noticed rent
continuing to increase,” Rall said.
“Every year, landlords will send
you a notice about renewing your
lease, and they often say, ‘If you
renew your lease, rent will go up
this much.’ I’ve never had a friend
whose rent stayed the same after
renewing their lease.”
LSA junior Hailey Pantaleo
has noticed the differences in
rent between Ann Arbor and
other college towns in Michigan.
Pantaleo’s
sister
attended
Saginaw Valley State University
in University Center, and her rent
was around half of what Pantaleo
pays in Ann Arbor.
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
The University of Michigan
Senate Advisory Committee
on University Affairs met on
Monday for their first meeting
of the academic year. Members
primarily discussed various
Senate Assembly committees,
such as the Academic Affairs
Advisory
Committee,
the
Government
Relations
Advisory Committee and the
Student Relations Advisory
Committee.
SACUA Chair Joy Beatty,
U-M
Dearborn
professor
of organizational behavior,
began
the
meeting
with
several
announcements
updating the group on the
University’s
application
to
host the 2020 presidential
debates on campus. She said
the University should hear
within the next six weeks if it
receives the bid.
“It
could
be
a
really
tremendous opportunity for
classroom activities related
to the election,” Beatty said.
“But we don’t know if it’s
happening yet.”
Beatty then asked SACUA
members to provide feedback
to the provost’s office on
the
emergency
alert
opt-
out
project,
which
would
automatically
register
all
University students, faculty
and staff to receive emergency
alerts.
Currently, the University
has an opt-in system, meaning
individuals must voluntarily
sign up to receive alerts.
During
the
March
active
shooter scare, many University
community members did not
receive alerts because they
had not opted-in to the system,
Beatty pointed out.
ll SACUA members agreed
the
project
would
be
a
positive step. Deirdre Spencer,
a
University
librarian,
highlighted
the
opt-out
system still gives users choice.
State Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann
Arbor, recently introduced a
bill to ban privately owned
prisons in the state.
The bill comes after the
news that the North Lake
Correctional Facility, a prison
owned by the correctional
institutions
company
GEO
Group, is reopening. It has
been contracted by the Federal
Bureau of Prisons to house non-
U.S. citizens for immigration
offenses,
according
to
the
Detroit News.
However, even if the bill
passes, it will not impact
the use of the North Lake
Correctional Facility in this
case because it was contracted
by the federal government,
Irwin said.
“There’s nothing a state can
do that can impair the federal
government and their ability
to spend their money how they
want,” Irwin said. “So that’s
just the practical reality of the
law — that the state can’t pass
anything that would prevent
the federal government from
engaging their contract.”
In Irwin’s opinion, Michigan
has not had a good track record
with private prisons.
GOT A NEWS TIP?
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.
INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 129
©2019 The Michigan Daily
N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
CL A SSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
MI House
passes bills in
response to
Nassar case
Lawmakers propose revoking medical
licenses of convicted sexual predators
A proposal to issue up to $27
million in bonds to expand and
improve the Ann Ashley Parking
Structure was rejected by the
Ann Arbor City Council 9-2 on
Tuesday.
The main expansion to add
three parking decks would cost
$21.7 million. The proposal also
includes a $4 million plan to build
a new Downtown Development
Authority office and community
meeting
space,
which
was
recommended by the Design
Review Board and unanimously
accepted by the DDA board.
City Administrator Howard
Lazarus said the $4 million
project was proposed because
the current DDA office’s lease at
150 S. Fifth Ave. expires soon —
in two years, according to MLive.
Lazarus added the proposal is
more cost efficient.
“The proposal was analyzed
and proved to be more cost
efficient over the long term over
renting and also provided much
needed
community
meeting
space,” Lazarus said.
DDA
Executive
Director
Susan Pollay said the meeting
space would “encourage more
public participation in local
matters.”
A2 Council
vetoes plan
for DDA’s
new office
ANN ARBOR
City rejects $27 M
proposal to expand
parking, $4M for
a community space
MICHAL RUPRECHT
Daily Staff Reporter
SACUA discusses bid to host 2020
debate at first meeting of school year
Assembly talks emergency alert opt-out project, committee updates
Proposal
would ban
privatized
prisons
GOVERNMENT
EMMA STEIN
Daily Staff Reporter
Follow The Daily
on Instagram,
@michigandaily
The
Michigan
House
of Represenatives passed
a series of bills with the
hope of correcting issues
uncovered by the Larry
Nassar sexual abuse case on
Wednesday
If signed into law, House
Bills 4372 and 4373 would
revoke doctor licenses of
doctors convicted of sexual
assault.
These
bills
are
sponsored by state Reps.
Annette Glenn, R-Midland,
and Daire Rendon, R-Lake
City.
The set of bills come as the
Department of Education
fined
Michigan
State
University
$4.5
million
Thursday for inadequately
responding to the Nassar
case.
In
an
interview
with
The Daily, Rendon said the
bills’ passage was a long
time coming. The damage
the perpetrator leaves is
profound, she said, and it is
important that the survivor
does not feel alone.
“The
severity
of
the
punishment
—
it
seems
severe and it is, but it pales in
comparison to the long-term
punishment and the long-
term memory that these
victims have to take with
them and to deal with for the
rest of their lives,” Rendon
said.
“Their
trust
was
violated, and it takes a long
time to rebuild that trust.”
Engineering
sophomore
Leah Webber is a Sexual
Assault
Prevention
and
Awareness Center volunteer
involved with the Consent,
Outreach
&
Relationship
Education program. She said
the bill is a step in the right
direction.
“I
think
anyone
who
was
convicted
of
sexual
assault should not be able
to be practicing medicine,”
Webber
said.
“I
think
medicine is a very physical
science ... (those convicted
of assault) should not have
access to people’s bodies
because
they
don’t
have
control
over
themselves
around
other
peoples
bodies.”
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Senate Assembly Chair Joy Beatty leads the discussion of Senate Assembly committees at the SACUA meeting in Fleming Administration Building Monday afternoon.
Ann Arbor rent ranks among
fastest growing for college towns
Average one-bedroom rent jumped from $850 in 2018 to $985 in 2019
See BILLS, Page 3
See PRISON, Page 3
BARBARA COLLINS
Daily News Editor
State Senator Jeff
Irwin introduces
new legislation to
Michigan Senate
SONIA LEE
Daily Staff Reporter
DESIGN BY ALEC COHEN
See RENT, Page 3
See DDA, Page 3
CLAIRE HAO
Daily Staff Reporter
See SACUA, Page 3