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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 30, 1984)
Dorm contracts not selling By Patrick Low Of the F.maraid When University freshman Jayne Hanslovan moved out of the campus dormitories and into the Delta Gamma sorority, she thought getting rid of her nine-month dorm contract would be relative ly easy. All she had to do was forfeit her $50 deposit and pay the University’s Housing [Depart ment $1 a day until she found someone to take her place. But it’s been more than a month since she advertised her contract for sale in the Oregon Dai ly Emerald and on various notice boards around campus, and so far she says the response has ed to lose money. The only way we could take in the extra money is to raise room and board rates. “So our stance has been for years that we advertise ourselves in the long-term housing business. And anybody who breaks that contract shouldn't be subsidized by the people who stay here all year. If we went by, say, a term-by-term contract, we’d probably have to raise room and board rates. So in effect the people who do stay would be sub sidizing those (who leave),” Romm says. Still, the people who get stuck with the $l-a day penalty often feel they are the ones subsidiz ing the housing budget, a frustration that often translates into hostility toward the “I thought it would be easy to sell my contract, because I thought there were a lot of people waiting to get in. But there weren’t,” she says. Hanslovan is one of about 30 students who moved out of the dorms this term and discovered in the following weeks how costly and frustrating getting rid of a dorm contract can be. An unsold contract can cost more than $200 in daily penalties. • Potential buyers are scarce In the middle of a term, and stiff competition among the sellers accounts for the seductive promises of cash or libations that —.ny a - ft?** 4 HELP! ti single, female room in Carson h, Hall up for grabs. Room includes lar 1 AIaaaI fri 9 hl2 --closet and free refrigerator. Available U.i now or for next term. Call: 345-6 9 6&£ and ask for Emily. °a//j "»m, Ca//**a C°*hti «Sle 3-9 cr ***<86/ accompany dorm contracts advertised for sale in the Emerald classified ads. Many students leave the dorms to join and move into a fraternity or sorority, and some are */// _1_ 4^ “It’s like they’ve got a racket go ing,” said one disgruntl ed ex-dorm resident whose frater nity is paying 75 percent of his penalties. Romm says he’s heard the complaints about his. department’s year long contract ripping students off, and he understands how they feel. But the policies exist to protect the Housing Department, since it is not a non profit organization, Romm says. The department must squeeze out some profit in order to make payments on the bonds that the University sold to build the dorms, he savs. iuv.rj( biiuu^u iw ^yiiipcusauuu iui me contract fees from their Greek houses. However, Hanslovan's sorority does not offer such help, and she can't afford to have the $l-a-day penalty cost hanging over her head, she says. Hanslovan says she sought help from the Housing Department but received virtually no assistance in finding a replacement for her dorm unit. “1 was sort of surprised,” she says. ‘‘They're the Housing Department and I thought they’d help me line up people. I went in there, and they said all they could do for me was tell me where to put up ads. I figured there’d be more of a way they could help me.” Dick Romm', director of residence life, admits Housing Department policies, have given the department a somewhat shady reputation. But the policies must remain, given'the financial realities of operating the dorms, he explains. Romm says contracts are long-term because it’s the only way the department can be guaranteed a fixed number of residents for three terms, "If we have a term-by-term contract we would probably have to budget on the fact that we’ll be less full,” Romm explains. “We’ll have to be more conservative because we’re not allow ‘If there was some natural disaster and they have to close the University, we have to guarantee the state of Oregon that we can pay the mortgage for two years,” he says. “Otherwise you will default on the bonds, and the taxpayers have to pay. So we have to make enough money over and above our expenses to make a two year reserve.” About $230 out of each resident’s room and board is allocated for the mortgage payment, Romm says. And if a person decides to leave, he or she is made to pay $1 a day to cover the mortgage. In addition, each empty bed constitutes a loss of $2,200, and right now there are 40 of them, he says. Any disincentive to leave, such as not refun ding the $50 dorm deposit, helps to keep the department in the black, he says.. “I realize that people change their minds, and that’s why we have ways to get out of the con tract,” he adds. “But they are ways in which we won’t lose a great deal of money.” “But if we were completely full, and we had someone who wanted to sell their contract, then we will help them find replacements.” he says. In the meantime, Hanslovan says she will advertise her contract again at the end of the term, when a new crop of students will be moving into the dorms. ^ i 1 Take note of the music news in The Friday Edition Tuesday is Duck Buck Night EUGENE 174 E. Broadway 342 3366 CORVALLIS 300 S W Jefferson SALEM 130 S.E. High St PORTLAND 226 N W. Davis Good Toward Large Pizza One Buck Per Pizza Offer good 10/30/84 only Cash Value 1 /20th of One Cent | LEONARDO DA VINCI ^ DUCK BUCK Oregon Daily Emerald EUGENE’S 8th ANNUAL HALLOWEEN BALL 3TARRING WITH SPECIAL GUESTS * THEPAHTY J KINGS 4 OCT 31,1984 ^ EUGENE HILTON + f 7 5 96 ADVANCE 4 • ( 696 AT THE DOOR 4 _- AVAILABLE AT 4 . -f EVERYBODY’S 4 \ RECORDS 4 \ SPOOKY SPECIALS 4 _FOR BEST 4 COSTUME ♦ PRODUCED BY DOUBLE TEE ♦ Wake Up * at the Breezeway Cafe for students on their way! Fresh-brewed gourmet coffee and a wide selection of pastries await you each morning. Outside seating available. Open: 8am to 5pm; Mon.-Fri. r Are you considering professional school? HARVARD UNIVERSITY JOHN F. KENNEDY SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT Is Looking for Future Leaders in Public Affairs. Come leam About Harvard’s Two-Year Master's Program in Public Policy, Leading to either the Master in Public Policy or City and Regional Planning Degree. meet wtth: DEAN CALVIN MOSLEY Friday, November 2 at 9 & 10 DATE: contact CAREER PLACEMENT OFFICE All Students, All Majors, All Years Welcome! Joint Degree Programs Offered with Harvard's other Professional Schools. Generous Cross-Registration Privileges with other Schools. Give your resume a professional look by having it typeset at the Oregon Daily Emerald Graphic Services Dept. ment, 300 EMU. Open 9 a.m. to 4 p.rr Page 7