The University of Michigan 
announced its hybrid plan for the 
fall semester in late June, allowing 
dorms to reopen and remaining 
flexible to students who do not want 
to return to campus. However, com-
munity members have raised ques-
tions about off-campus housing and 
what students are able to do about 
leases if they do not plan to return 
to campus in the fall. 
Oxford 
Companies 
Associate 
Director Katie Vohwinkle told The 
Daily in an interview that they are 
working with students who signed 
a lease, but decided to not return to 
campus amid COVID-19.
“We have been in touch with the 
property owners, and every situa-
tion is a little bit different. But any-
one that has come to us so far and 
expressed a need to get out of their 
lease, we are assisting them and 
trying to help them find someone 
to take over their lease,” Vohwin-
kle said. “In years past, there have 
been fees associated with that, us 
marketing for them, but we (are) not 
charging (now) and we have been 
very successful in finding people to 
take over leases, (but) they are still 
responsible for the lease.” 
Many 
universities, 
including 
Harvard University and the Cal-
ifornia State University system, 
have announced plans to go entirely 
remote for the fall semester. Voh-
winkle said if the University were 
to follow suit, they would have a 
different approach to the decision 
about their leases. 
“We would look at the situation 
differently if that were to happen,” 
Vohwinkle said. “We would reach 
out to the individual owner about 
how to handle each individual prop-
erty. But, they all do have leases 
(and) so far, we have been fortunate 
and we have been able to help every 
single person in that situation. We 
do not have a clause in our leases to 
break the lease… The students are 
on a 12-month lease, these are not 
academically driven (schedules).” 
LSA junior Avaneesh Reddy told 

The Daily in an email he signed a 
lease last December and is strug-
gling to find a way to release his 
commitment to living in the apart-
ment due to the pandemic. 
“I signed my lease back in 
December at Landmark, as apart-
ments were pretty much running 
out for next year,” Reddy said. “It 
seems like there’s no way to break 
the lease. I’ve spoken to the manage-
ment and explained the situation 
that I shall not be returning to cam-
pus during the next semester, but 
they were pretty nonchalant and 
dismissive of the financial strain 
that it might put to continue hold-
ing such unoccupied space for most 
families.” 
As an international student, 
Reddy said that the subletting pro-
cess is complicated and these road-
blocks have made a challenging 
situation more difficult to navigate 
since it is harder for him to return 
to the U.S.
“Landmark has made things 
worse by preventing subleasing and 
only allowing reletting of the entire 
lease,” Reddy said. “Since almost no 
one is looking to take up a 12 month 
lease now, it seems I have no legal 
way to sublease my apartment. As 
an international student who trav-
elled back to India due to the pan-
demic, I can say with confidence 
that I’ll be staying back and com-
pleting the semester online. I’m also 
considering taking a gap semester, 
but there’s a lot to be considered, 
and having a huge housing debt is 
not making things easier.”
Landmark declined to comment 
on their leasing and reletting poli-
cies. The Daily also reached out to 
Arbor Blu, The Hub - Ann Arbor, 
Zaragon West, Zaragon Place and 
University Towers, all of which 
declined to comment.
LSA junior Deedy Chang talked 
to The Daily about her experience 
working to sublease her room in a 
house for the upcoming school year. 
“I am currently trying to find 
someone to take over my lease. If 
it doesn’t work I’ll probably switch 
to subletting,” Chang said. “I con-
tacted my landlord when I found 
out that I might not return to cam-
pus or I might want to look for a 
space with less people because I live 
in a house of seven.”

2

Thursday, July 30, 2020
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
NEWS

Scattered on the front steps of 
the federal building in downtown 
Ann Arbor, approximately 200 
Michigan residents of all ages 
and races gathered on Saturday 
afternoon to protest against racial 
injustice and the prospect of 
federal officers entering Detroit. 
Protesters across the country 
have 
marched 
for 
months 
hoping to end police brutality 
and dismantle systemic racism. 
However, 
Saturday’s 
protest 
in Ann Arbor took on another 
cause after President Donald 
Trump ordered federal officers to 
Portland, Ore., to quell protests, 
raising questions about whether 
the U.S. government has exceeded 
its authority and violated civil 
rights. 
In late June, Trump signed an 
executive order to justify sending 
federal officers to Portland in 
order to protect federal property 
from destruction. Portland, a city 
known for its spirited activism, 
has grown to become an epicenter 
for protests in the wake of George 
Floyd’s death at the hands of 
police brutality. 
The tense standoff in the 
Portland has not just involved 
protesters 
and 
the 
federal 

officers, as local officials have 
also said the situation amounts to 
federal overreach. Furthermore, 
federal officers have deployed 
tear gas into a crowd of Portland 
protesters, 
including 
Portland 
Mayor Ted Wheeler, in late July. 
Trump 
has 
since 
doubled 
down and committed to sending 
more federal officers to cities 
like Chicago, New York City, 
Philadelphia and Detroit, among 
others. 
These recent events were at 
the forefront of the Ann Arbor 
protesters’ activism Saturday.
The 
event, 
organized 
by 
Jeff Gaynor, Ann Arbor School 
Board member, and local tutor 
Amy 
Lesemann 
began 
the 
protest with speeches from local 
activists and politicians including 
candidates 
for 
Washtenaw 
County prosecutor Hugo Mack, 
Arianne Slay, Eli Savit and other 
Washtenaw County officials.
Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher 
Taylor said the U.S. must undergo 
a major transformation to create 
an inclusive community. 
“The federal government, state 
government, local government, 
every community within the 
United States of America requires 
reworking and reimagining to 
meet our goals and aspirations,” 
Taylor said. “(Our goal is) a 
community 
that 
embraces 
everyone, where everyone has a 
role to play, where everyone can 
achieve what it is they wish to 
achieve.”

Off-campus leases 
present challenges

Downtown A2 lined 
with 200 marchers

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Protesters fight against 
prospect of federal 
officers entering Detroit

As the pandemic rages 
on, students struggle to 
break housing contracts

