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October 21, 2020 - Image 8

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The Michigan Daily

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Opinion

Students being taken advantage of
by those with wealth and power
on college campuses isn’t new;
graduate students had to go on
strike this fall in order for the
University of Michigan to meet
their basic requests and needs.
It’s now clear that reopening as
the University did was not safe,
and landlords benefitted. This
situation is indicative of a much
broader problem of businesses
and institutions in our community
taking its backbone — college
students — for granted, leaving
students with their hands tied.

One reason why Ann Arbor

landlords
are
able
to
take

advantage of students in such a
way is the scarcity of good housing
options,
which
incentivizes

students to lock in houses as
early in the season as possible.
Landlords
likely
do
this
to

combat one of the few safeguards
students have in the off-campus
housing market, which is a city
ordinance requiring landlords to
wait a minimum of 70 days from
the beginning of a lease-term to
officially show or lease a property
to prospective new tenants. This
early leasing period requires many
students to pay housing deposits
almost a full year in advance. This
may be particularly difficult for
low-income students who cannot
afford to let a leasing company
hold onto a large deposit for almost
two years.

The difficulty of paying a

housing deposit a year early
has been exacerbated by the
pandemic and resulting economic
downturn, where many families
lost
their
primary
source

income and need the increased
flexibility of holding onto this
money for several more weeks
or months. While the pandemic
would seem like a great time for
landlords who cater primarily to
students to be accommodating
and understanding, many have
instead decided to capitalize on
the insecure nature of student
housing.
The
pandemic
has

enabled landlords to act with
greed, and to act quickly, pushing
students into a corner where they
must choose between housing
insecurity
for
the
following

school year or risk putting down
a security deposit, sometimes over
$1000, on a property in which they
may never live. These landlords
are, in essence, preying on an
inescapable vulnerability shared
by and fairly unique to nearly all
college students.

Rising rent prices in Ann

Arbor further exacerbate the
stress of the financial burdens
that an early lease cycle creates.
The city consistently ranks as
one of the most expensive college
towns to live in. Rent prices have
been rising at a whopping 15.9%
year-over-year, second only to
Gainesville, Fla., the home of the
University of Florida. There are
several factors that have led to
this high rent inflation in Ann
Arbor. With off-campus student
property occupancy at 98%, Ann
Arbor is a landlord’s market that

leaves little power to tenants.
Landlords are therefore able to get
away with higher rents. Further,
the fact that the University of
Michigan has a relatively wealthy
student body doesn’t help with the
rising rent prices. According to
a study by The New York Times,
the median income of the U-M
student’s family is $154,000, with
about 9.3% students belonging to
the Top 1% families in the U.S. by
household income. Only 3.6% of
students come from the bottom
20% in terms of household income.
As long as students are able to pay
the increasing rents, the trend of
rents increasing will continue.

Therefore,
The
Michigan

Daily
Editorial
Board
urges

the Ann Arbor City Council
to extend the Early Leasing
Ordinance.
Moving
back
the

leasing deadline is necessary to
allow students to fully consider
their housing needs and options
for the next year. For example, in
Pittsburgh, Pa., which is home
to the University of Pittsburgh,
Carnegie Mellon University and
Chatham University, the typical
lease renewal cycle for off-campus
student housing doesn’t start
until spring. That gives students
ample time to decide if they like
their
current
apartment
and

roommates, both of which are
major factors in considering a lease
renewal. It also allows students to
have increased financial flexibility,
since they don’t have to pay a
housing deposit a year in advance.

However, it’s important to note

that
extending
the
ordinance

will not solve all of the problems
with early leasing. Many Ann
Arbor real estate companies have
found ways to creatively interpret
this
ordinance.
These
leasing

companies
allow
students
to

reserve, with a deposit, properties
several weeks before the deadline.
Students will then be provided with
the official paperwork and tour on
the 70th day of the current lease. If
a student fails to sign the lease, they
will lose their reservation deposit.
This in effect allows real estate
companies to lease their units
before they are legally allowed,
with no official leasing paperwork
completed
until
the
deadline

passes. So, while regulations help to
an extent, the onus is on students to
unanimously organize themselves
to sign leases only in the spring
semester in order to bring a lasting
change in moving the leasing cycle
to later in the school year.

Therefore, the Editorial Board

also urges students themselves
to fight against this early leasing
period that landlords enforce on
campus. While the situation may
appear hopeless, students do have
the power to inform themselves
of the risks of buying into this
transparent money-grab by our
community’s landlords. We can use
our voices to direct fellow students
to resources that inform them of the
nature of a student tenant-landlord
agreement. We can use our voices
to direct students to landlords
who treat tenants with dignity and
respect. And we can use our voices

to make very public the leasing
companies in our community
whose efforts are transparently
profit-based. Unfortunately, our
primary source of power in this
instance is merely to expose
large Ann Arbor landlords like
Landmark and Campus Realty,
who have long-standing, well-
known reputations on campus of
treating their tenants poorly — at
least according to online reviews.

Because
getting
the
entire

student body together will become
a challenge as long as there is a
dearth of good housing options,
an effective way to tackle this
challenge is for the University to
step in and offer more low-cost
on-campus housing at convenient
locations across campus. Since
applications
for
on-campus

housing start later in the spring,
this reduces the pressure on
students to quickly lock in off-
campus options this early in the
year. And regarding rising rent
prices, the onus is once again on the
City Council to enforce rent control.
Alternatively, the University should
step in to offer more low-cost,
on-campus housing. This will help
reduce rents and make the housing
process more equitable for students
from all sections and financial
backgrounds. There is urgency in
taking such measures, particularly
in the wake of the pandemic which
has disproportionately impacted
students
from
lower-income

financial backgrounds.

At least on the local level,

politicians have attempted to make
housing more affordable around
Ann Arbor through the proposal
of a new tax levy, revenues from
which would be dedicated to the
construction of new affordable
housing units throughout the
city. The proposal, commonly
referred to as Proposal-C, is on the
November election ballots.

That’s a huge step for the City

of Ann Arbor, but as of yet there
are little details as to where these
new units may be constructed.
Students have a voice in this. Ann
Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor
(D) has been vocal in his desire to
maintain flexibility with regards
to potential sites for new affordable
housing
construction.
Students

who agree should feel empowered
to contact the mayor’s office and
communicate their beliefs. Student
agency has been lacking on campus
for much of this year, especially
with regard to the University’s
substandard
protocols
for

managing COVID-19. Affordable
housing can make a tangible
difference to thousands of students
at the University, just as improving
COVID-19 safety measures made a
tangible difference to the Graduate
Employees’ Organization. Students
with a vested interest in obtaining a
more affordable living situation on
campus should make their voices
heard, just as the GEO did. This
year has shown us nothing if not
that progress has to be driven from
the grassroots.

ERIN WHITE
Managing Editor

Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building

420 Maynard St.

Ann Arbor, MI 48109

tothedaily@michigandaily.com

Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.

ELIZABETH LAWRENCE

Editor in Chief

BRITTANY BOWMAN AND

EMILY CONSIDINE

Editorial Page Editors

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS

JENNA SCHEEN | CONTACT CARTOONIST AT JSCHEEN@UMICH.EDU

Ray Ajemian

Zack Blumberg

Brittany Bowman

Ajit Chilukuri

Emily Considine

Elizabeth Cook
Jess D’Agostino
Jenny Gurung
Cheryn Hong
Krystal Hur
Min Soo Kim

Zoe Phillips
Mary Rolfes

Gabrijela Skoko

Joel Weiner
Erin White

Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building

420 Maynard St.

Ann Arbor, MI 48109

tothedaily@michigandaily.com

Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.

ELIZABETH LAWRENCE

Editor in Chief

Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of The Daily’s Editorial Board.

All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.

Wednesday, October 21, 2020 — 8
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

FROM THE DAILY

Combatting exploitative off-campus

housing in Ann Arbor

I

t is now October in Ann Arbor and along with midterms comes another
stressor for students: signing off-campus leasing agreements for the 2021-
2022 school year. As with every year, landlords across the campus have

started sending notices for renewals with a short time-frame for decisions. While
the ongoing pandemic has created uncertainty around an in-residence 2020-2021
school year for students, this has not deterred landlords from pushing ahead with
the lease renewals. This action brings into question not just the long-standing
problem of early lease-renewal cycles and rising rent prices in Ann Arbor but also
the ethics of landlords who do not put students’ best interests at the forefront.

C

ollege
students
have

done
everything
they

can
to
acclimate
to

the
new
pandemic
lifestyle.

Months of quarantine followed
by continuous social-distancing
and adherence to public health
guidelines brought us to a point
today where grabbing a mask
before heading out the door
has become a natural instinct.
Though maintaining six feet
of
space
between
ourselves

and those we encounter is not
exactly how we planned to live
our lives as students at a Big
Ten university, we’re making
it work. After all, University of
Michigan students, for the most
part, understand the severity of
the pandemic and do their part in
keeping our community safe.

What I have not been able to

acclimate to is remote learning,
and I believe I speak on behalf
of the rest of the student body
when I say that it’s extremely
challenging to do so. Quite
frankly,
our
current
virtual

learning environment is making it
hard to do so.

Back in August, as the fall

2020 semester was approaching,
University
President
Mark

Schlissel’s
optimism
about

in-person
instruction
and

eagerness to get back on to
campus made many students
believe in the possibility of
a
positive
virtual
learning

experience. Despite returning

students’
apprehension
to

resume virtual learning after
a dismal, lonely ending to our
winter 2020 semester, it seemed
like logging back on to Zoom and
Canvas this time around would be
different. After all, the University
administration and instructors
alike had four long months to
brainstorm and execute new ways
to create an effective and valuable
virtual learning environment.

Other than a few courses being

offered in a hybrid format, very
little has been modified since
the commencement of remote

learning in mid-March. It seems

as
though
many
instructors

have done nothing to alter their
curricula to better accommodate
these circumstances, thinking
that students would fare well
learning material at a similar
structure and pace as semesters
past. We’re not well. This is not
the “Michigan Difference” we
signed up for.

In no way am I denying the

necessity of remote learning; it is
the safest option for continuing
our education amid the adversity
we
are
facing.
That
said,

University instructors need to
recognize that they are no longer
in the classroom. They need
to recognize that the majority
of students no longer enjoy a
refreshing walk to class in the
morning, the ability to greet
and catch up with their friends
in the Diag or collaborate on
assignments with classmates in
the library.

Our minds are continuously

working while our bodies stay
put; we spend the majority of
our day in a cramped space,
staring at a screen with little
pause or break. This change of
pace correlates to a decline in
mental health across the student
body — instructors and the
administration need to adjust
their current methods of virtual
teaching to better accommodate
our needs.

Let’s further examine student

mental health and why the
current means of virtual learning
is digging us into a deeper hole.
In early August, the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
released research in light of the
pandemic which reported that a
disproportionately high number
— roughly 25% — of American
citizens between the ages of 18
and 24 “seriously contemplated
suicide in June.”

To reiterate, one in four young

adults between 18 and 24 years
old reported having grievous
thoughts of ending their lives.
This research was conducted in
June, a time when the weather
was finally warm again and
most students were relieved
from their studies. If a quarter
of young people in that age range
were
seriously
contemplating

suicide then, I cannot begin to

imagine what that statistic is
now. October brings colder
weather and shorter days, and
though we used to look forward
to this month to celebrate fall,
game days and Halloween, our
celebrations largely have been
put on pause.

The
remainder
of
this

semester is going to be dark —
literally and figuratively. Student
mental health is only going to get
worse as school work picks up.
Instructors must acknowledge
this moving forward and reflect
it in their teaching.

On
behalf
of
students,

please attempt to make virtual
class both more manageable
and enjoyable. Enable rolling
deadlines to account for the
possibility of adverse situations.
Make lectures more interactive
and entertaining. Make yourself
a resource for students to reach
out to with concerns regarding
mental health or any troubles
they are facing. It is not enough
to include a statement on COVID-
19 in course syllabi and never
again address the topic for the
remainder of the semester.

This is not to say that

virtual learning is necessarily
easy
for
instructors,
but

you are the ones in control.
University
administrators,

too, need to do their part, as
they are the ones to oversee
and facilitate our education. It
is their responsibility to urge
instructors to assess the needs
of their students and adjust
their curricula accordingly.

Some
students
might
be

managing these changes well,
but many feel lost, unable to
break away from the mental
fog that virtual learning is
pressing upon us. We are not
doing well now and it will
only get worse, and we must
reflect this in our approach to
virtual learning. There was an
expectation among instructors
and faculty at the University
that taking past curricula and
implementing them virtually
without any changes would
work seamlessly.

It does not. We are not coping.

Let’s work together to make
this virtual format as bearable
and effective as possible before
it’s too late.

SPIROS KASS | COLUMN

Revamp virtual learning, our well-

being depends on it

Student mental
health is only

going to get worse

as school work

picks up.

Spiros Kass can be reached at

spikass@umich.edu.
Read more at MichiganDaily.com

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