With the creation of a new ad hoc committee, Student Council will investigate safety in off-Grounds housing and provide prospective student tenants with pertinent information before they make their housing decisions.
Council unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday night to create an ad hoc committee to research conditions in off-Grounds housing.
College Rep. Nathan A. Cook, who sponsored the resolution, said the purpose of the committee is to investigate and eliminate illegal, unfair or unsafe practices in off-Grounds housing and better inform students about their options.
The committee would investigate safety concerns such as poor lighting and other issues such as early lease signing, Cook said.
"Another goal of ours is to get landlords to push back the date students must sign leases," he said. "Currently, off-Grounds housing is a pain in the neck for students in a multitude of ways. Signing leases often devolves into an adversarial process, especially for first years."
Cook said the committee wants to create a better atmosphere for students living in off-Grounds housing by uniting students to speak out against injustices and unfair or unsafe landlord practices.
"Landlords form a strong and influential bloc within the city, and it is time students had an advocate of their own. That is what this committee will be," he said.
Council President-elect Joe Bilby said he is in support of the creation of the ad hoc committee because off-Grounds housing problems are among the major issues facing University students.
"We are trying to give students more options for housing and the first step is more information," Bilby said. "Nathan's ideas look strong and we are going to build them into a major project."
He said he supports splitting the Housing, Parking and Transportation Committee into two separate committees because both have a great deal to accomplish in the next year and work with issues which greatly concern many students.
Currently, issues encompassing housing, parking and transportation are all included under the umbrella of one committee.
Cook said Council President Taz Turner will hopefully appoint members to the ad hoc committee in the next two weeks so committee members can begin working soon.
"We hope to make real change in off-Grounds by rewarding good practices and exposing the bad ones," Cook said.
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