Tower tenants take a “slum lord” to task
Editorial
Who’dve thunk it?USG’s ambitious landlord library created a flurry of controversy when it was first released last quarter, mostly from irate rental companies miffed at the low ratings given their service by students fed up with getting ripped off. We thought the worst offenders had all been ferreted out and exposed for the slum lords they really were, but it seems as though one particular agency managed to escape notice.We’re speaking, of course, about the Ohio State University.Hiding in plain sight, the often times dismal service OSU provides to students living in campus housing is only now being brought to light, thanks to a number of smart, determined residents of the Jones Graduate Tower.Unlike most freshmen, who feel that they have little choice but to accept the spartan and cheerless existence the university provides, the Jones Tower tenants have opted to exercise their legal rights and force their landlord to provide the kind of living environment required by law – even if that landlord happens to be OSU.Last week over 200 of the 470 Jones Tower residents signed a petition describing the “hideous living conditions” they were forced to occupy. Beginning with a long-running water outage which has left students without running water every day between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., residents have cited additional problems including everything from the hit-or-miss air conditioners, pests and antiquated elevator system.It seems abundantly clear that living in Jones Tower is far from an overnight stay at the Waldorf-Astoria, but OSU added insult to injury when students were sent a letter outlining the terms of their rent increase, effective September 1998.”We have had all these problems, tolerating this for a year now and OSU still wants to raise our rent rates,” a Tower resident indignantly told the Lantern in a recent article.But far from stopping at justified outrage, students have instead taken matters into their own hands. By threatening to place their rent in escrow – a separate account overseen by the county clerk of courts and off-limits to OSU until courts are satisfied that the proper repairs have been made – students have effectively forced university officials to address their grievances. The outcome of these meetings is anyone’s guess, and to a certain degree irrelevant to students who don’t happen to live in Jones Tower. We certainly wish residents the best of luck and hope that the situation is rectified in their favor. But the importance of these students’ persistence, ingenuity and refusal to back down goes far beyond the confines of Jones Tower. Instead, it serves as an example to all OSU students, reminding us that we don’t have to roll over to our landlords – whether they’re OSU or a private rental company.Take a cue from their actions; the law does recognize these sorts of complaints and will step in to protect the rights of tenants. But they cannot and will not take action until the tenant takes the initiative to file a complaint against the landlord or rental company. Know your rights and exercise them accordingly – no one has to be a victim.
