- —editorial —. ^
Good compromise
On Monday, the prolonged Amazon rent strike ended
with the acceptance of a new proposal from the Amazon
governance committee. The proposals, if treated fairly by
the Housing Office and President Boyd, will grant a new
opportunity for more equitable management of the Ama
zon Housing Project.
One significant aspect of the proposal is the organiza
tion of an Amazon Family Housing Policy Board, which will
have the power to overturn decisions made by the Housing
Office. President Boyd will now have the final say in the
decisions concerning the Amazon project. He will judge the
decisions made by the Housing Office and the Policy
Board.
It’s a good compromise, and one which seems to
satisfy both the administration and the tenants of the Ama
zon project. But making it work will depend largely on the
receptiveness of the Administration and Boyd to the ideas
generated by the Policy Board, which consists of three
Amazon tenants, one Housing Office member, the Ama
zon director, a University representative, an ASUO rep
resentative and two faculty members. The Amazon Com
munity Tenant organization (ACT) will be recognized by
the University as the voice of the Amazon tenants.
In the past, and in recent months particularly, the
Housing Office has not been as receptive to the Amazon
tenants as it should have been. It was stubborn in its
non-recognition of the ACT group, and seemed unwilling to
listen to student input into the rent hike suggested by the
Housing Office and their complaints about the mainte
nance of the project.
The administration, however, is to be commended for
not using the final blows that it had at its command —
eviction and interference in the striking tenants’ registra
tion for courses. The avoidance of this tool and the new
proposals seem to indicate that the administration is willing
to at least listen to the gripes of the tenants.
It is to be hoped that with the new Policy Board and the
tenant collective bargaining unit, the administration and
the Housing Office will place more credence in the ideas
presented by the tenants. The new organization will give
both the Housing Office and the administration the chance
to respond more quickly and more adequately to the com
plaints and ideas of the tenants. This could bring enough
openness to the structure of the Housing Office decision
making process to avoid further rent strikes by frustrated
students.
And those tenants have had something to gripe about.
The maintenance of the Amazon project has been shoddy
at best. The Housing Office has neglected the mainte
nance on the basis of a lack of funds. The $10 rent increase
approved as a part of the compromise is supposedly
aimed at improving the maintenance of the project. With
the complaints about the upkeep of the buildings driving a
majority of the tenants to withhold their rent, the message
to upgrade the maintenance is more than clear. The re
venue generated by the rent hike must be used to respond
to the tenants’ long-awaited improvements.
It’s good to see that the Amazon struggle has ended in
a compromise which will give the tenants a voice in what
happens in the housing project. Allowing the students into
the process will allow the Housing Office to take into ac
count student interests as well as University interests.
Since the Amazon project serves the students, this is as it
should be.
V.
J
opinion --- \
Tenants have a common bond
3
A response is needed to Larry Jaffa's opinion,
“Landlords Hold all the Aces,” one that carries some
of his points a bit farther. Since Eugene’s vacancy
rate usually hovers around 2% (5% is considered by
government as a housing shortage), of course we
are constantly faced with a housing crunch thereby
giving landlords an unfair advantage over tenants.
Naturally, frustration is the first reaction to this
realization. But it is all too easy to complain and then
do nothing about it. Under any oppressed system
when the prevailing feeling is "There’s nothing we
can do,” then that system is hereby fed into and
supported. Yes, as tenants in the Eugene area we
have problems looking for an maintaining decent
housing at reasonable rates. But there are ways that
tenants can prompt some changes in tenant/landlord
attitudes and relations.
(1) Temper cynicism with a little trust. AH land
lords are not one-eyed money gorging monsters. In
fact, some of my best friends are landlords. Go
ahead and believe everything your landlord prom
ises — BUT — get him/her to put it in writing. If your
landlord promises you a house but won't write down
that promise, then you probably wouldn’t want to rent
from that person anyway. Oral agreements are just
as binding as written agreements but almost impos
sible to prove, even with a witness. If your landlord
promises repairs or improvements, get it in writing!
(2) Don’t become too anxious to find a place.
Some of the worst agreements and decisions are
made on hot September afternoons when you have
been looking for a place all day (or all week). Finally,
a landlord says, “Yes, I’ll rent to you," and you end up
signing away 12 months of your life, money and
mental health without even looking over the place,
reading the lease or deciding whether you like the
landlord or not.
If you have had trouble with some of the bigger
rental companies in town, check out the smaller land
lords who own just a few places. Chances are rents
will be less expensive and you'll have a better oppor
tunity for a one-to-one relationship with the landlord.
(3) Assert yourself. Until you, as a tenant, realize
that you are making an agreement which is hypothet
ically a half and half affair, landlords will continue to
include ridiculous rules such as “No showers after 10
P.M." (It’s happened.)
Read your lease and understand what it says
before you sign it. Read the OSPIRG Renter’s Hand
book for your rights and obligations and a paraphras
ing of the law.
(4) Be a good tenant. Before you move in, take
an hour or so, and fill out an inventory and condition
report which will definitively list the contents and
condition of the dwelling. Ask your landlord to go
through the place with you and sign the report. If
that's impossible, ask a reliable friend or neighbor.
This report is mutual insurance for landlord and ten
ant and can save you your deposit months later.
Take photographs of any blatant damage and ex
plain it fully on the report.
(5) You are not the only tenant. If you’re irritated
with your landlord and decide to get back at him/her
somehow, remember that there will be tenants after
you, who will suffer the consequences even if you
don’t. A landlord who has had good experiences with
groups of students, or couples just living together,
will continue to rent to them.
(6) So you are a student. It is illegal to discrimi
nate in any way on the basis of race; color; sex
(except if common toilet facilities are necessary),
marital status, religion, national origin or mental or
physical handicap. A landlord can refuse you hous
ing because you are a student, but not because you
are a woman. If you feel you have been discriminated
against contact Off-Campus Housing, the City of
Eugene's Human Rights Commission, the State of
Oregon's Bureau of Labor or the U S. Government’s
Department of Housing and Urban Development.
(7) Organize. In the past, tenant unions in the
area have begun strong but quickly weakened and
died due to lack of interest. Tenant unions are a good
way of collecting ideas, gripes and concerns. They
also get things done like exerting pressure to keep
rents down, make repairs and provide support and
help for other tenants. Anyone interestd should con
tact the Off-Campus Housing.
Finally, we have a common bond. Most all of us
are tenants. Once we realize and understand ttis
potential, change will invariably occur despite the
circumstances or opposition. If we don't. Mr. Jaffe’s
attitude will reign and so will landlords.
Walter Pavllch
Director
Off-Campus Housing
Letters policy
This is our last issue for the summer, but in
the fall we will continue our policy of accepting
and toying to print all letters containing fair
comment on ideas and topics of concern or
interest to the University community. Because
of space limitations, letters must be no more
than 250 words, typed in a 65-character mar
gin, triple-spaced, dated and signed with the
writer's name and major or field of teaching
No unsigned letters will be published. Longer
opinion columns will be published whenever
possible after being submitted to the editorial
page editor. The limit on opinion columns is
800 words, using the same format as letters
' I WM Tb A QDMPR>A1SE, MY tGM?.— ffiiAN MQEP PXUiniNG BUT I CAN
GO ON AUGUST
SftSM
Page 4
I A lters
Another side
Before romanticizing the “Truck
Stop rock,” look at all sides of the
picture. Phil Ganni is presently in
volved in at least two counts of
failure to pay proper wages and
overtime. I filed one of these com
plaints myself with the State
Bureau of Labor. The waitress
quoted in your article was fired the
same day the reporters from the
Emerald were in the Truck Stop.
Reason? the same “playful sexual
asides” which so amused your re
porter.
There are other truck stops in
the Eugene area. I'd like to en
courage people who read the
Emerald's article to check them
out — first. Maybe then you won't
be putting money into the pocket
of a man to whom unfairness to his
employees is part of his business
life.
I served your reporter coffee the
morning he interviewed Mr.
Ganni. I liked the customers and
the atmosphere of that cafe; it was
an enjoyable place to work before
the present owner came. I regret
ted quitting, but I have better
things to do with my time and
energy than get ripped off to the
tune of the Truck Stop rock.
Carol A. Quean
906 W. 4th, Eugene
A good reason
I was informed (through the
grapevine) that Jody McDonald,
the waitress at the Truck Terminal
Restaurant (Truck Stop) was
fired. If this is true, I am shocked
and unhappy. She is one of the
reasons I went there to eat instead
of any other cafe. She is a good
waitress and obviously loves her
work, which is damned uncom
mon in a time of too much blase
and formally cold, bad service
topping off synthetic, franchised
food.
Lenore Garwood
2240-13 Patterson St
Tuesday, August 8,1077