APRIL 26, 2013

THE PIONEER LOG

NEWS

Campus Livings new procedures fall short

ZIBBY PILLOTE
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The Easiest Move: Stay On Campus! read an email dated Jan. 28 to rising junior and senior students currently living in dorms. But securing a desirable spot on campus is not all its cracked up to be. This spring, Campus Living implemented a new strategy for assigning students to on-campus housing for the 2013-2014 school year. The strategy involved incentivizing rising upperclassmen to stay on campus by offering them the first choice of housing accommodations, a three percent rent reduction on the 2013-2014 room rates and the chance to win iPads, parking permits and bookstore gift cards. The email from Director of Campus Housing Sandi Bottemiller also emphasized new block meal plans and free laundry. In order to be eligible for such benefits, students had to enter into a lease agreement that involved a required (non refundable) $200 deposit. While the email mentioned the sense of community and benefit of convenience that comes with living on campus, it failed to state how many apartments were available for rising juniors and seniors, and through what sort of process the applicants would be chosen. Ted Jack (15) took issue with the way his deposit was handled after he did not receive the apartment that he had applied for. The general sense was that if you applied early, you would get an apartment, said Jack. Jack and his friends were wary of the non-refundable fee, but wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to significantly increase their chances

of getting the apartment of their choosing. We only proceeded with the application because we had been told that if we didnt get our apartment we would be able to get refunds. This eventually became the general consensus among students. Originally, the early action housing initiative was assumed to be on a first-come, first-served basis. On March 13, Bottemiller announced that Campus Living would be switching to a lottery system in order to assign apartments in the most fair way. According to the first-come, firstserved system, rising seniors were given priority over rising juniors, who were first-time applicants to the apartments. When Jack and his friends began to suspect that they would not receive a four-bedroom apartment and would instead be split into two double apartments, the group decided to try to cancel their lease agreement. Bottemiller alerted the group eight days before announcing outcomes to all applicants that they would not be issued refunds because Campus Living could have accommodated [them] in two-bedroom units. Though Bottemillers Jan. 28 email clearly states that deposits were nonrefundable, other Campus Living employees had told Jack that in the event of a four-bedroom being split into two two-bedroom apartments, the deposit could be refunded. The initial decision was that no person who had applied early would be issued a refund under any circumstance; this included students who had applied for four-bedroom units and were offered two-bedroom units, as well

as students who had applied for either and received nothing. After a number of students voiced their dissatisfaction, Campus Living changed the policy so that students who did not receive either two- or four-bedroom assignments could get a refund, and students who received two-bedroom apartments after applying for four-bedroom apartments could receive a partial refund and have the rest of the money go towards living on campus. The inconsistency in granting refunds was extremely frustrating for Jack, who was determined to do something. The lease agreement for the apartment states that students may receive a refund if their application is cancelled before July 1 for the fall semester, or Nov. 15 for the spring semester. Early action applicants are an exception to this rulefor the privilege of signing up early, deposits may not be refunded. After a meeting with Dean of Students Anna Gonzalez and Bottemiller, Jack received his deposit back in return for his silence. They essentially asked me at the meeting to let people speak for themselves and stop taking action on behalf of the student body about this. What I took from it was they were saying, Yeah, well refund you, now shut up, said Jack. Jack encouraged other students affected by the debacle to share their stories with him in the hopes of building a legal case against the school. It turned out I couldnt take legal action. They refunded me so I couldnt [do anything] on my account, and the other person in my situation received an offer [for a partial refund] from [Campus

ILLUSTRATION BY CAMILLE SHUMANN

Living] and she took it, said Jack. On March 28, students were notified as to their apartment living situation. Jack was forwarded an email by a friend sent to Students awarded doubles that clearly states that in lieu of losing the $200 completely, you may opt to apply for a residence hall room instead...We will refund $100 of your deposit if you choose to complete the housing contract, keeping the remaining $100. The event has sparked a series of discussions on campus, in the Campus Living office and beyond. On April 1, a meeting was called in Akin Hall to address these issues. Bottemiller seemed to [think] that I was making all this up and there werent any problems, and we addressed the fact that they refunded some people but they arent refunding other

people, and they wont tell people what the actual requirements are to get a refund, and theres just a lack of transparency, said Jack. It leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth. Youve got all these students paying $40,000 a year to go to school here, and theyre not going to refund you your $200. Really? said Jack. Jack says that he and his friends will be living in a house off campus next fall. He admits the apartments are nice, but does not believe that they are worth so much trouble. Two-bedroom apartments and four-bedroom apartments each cost $3,677 a semester before the addition of a required meal plan. Four-bedroom apartments feature a full stove and oven and a full-sized fridge, while double apartments have a twoburner stove and microwave oven.

Resources available over the summer

ZIBBY PILLOTE
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

How our grounds shift

BY CHRISTOPHER VAN PUTTEN
NEWS EDITOR

Lets face it: living on campus over the summer is an expensive and socially taxing endeavor. Fortunately, the school isnt completely blind to the sense of isolation that comes with living on Palatine Hill. Here are a few of the services that will be offered while summer school is in session (May 20 to June 28 and July 1 to August 9): The Pioneer Express will run during summer school sessions on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. During the week, connections between campus and Portland can be made

I hope these services will provide a greater sense of student life and activity for those who live on campus during the summer and give them great opportunities to connect with the city of Portland, said Dean of Students Anna Gonzalez.

using the TriMet Line 39 bus. Monthly bus passes are sold for half price at the Campus Safety office. Food service will be available in the Dovecote from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. weekdays and lunch will be available in the Trail Room. When groups rent out campus for retreats or summer camps, Fields Dining Room will be open to everyone. Gonzalez hopes that food carts will make an appearance on campus, but plans have not been finalized. Grocery items, akin to those currently sold in Maggies, will be sold in the Trail Room.

Walking down the steps past the Manor House, and winding around the lawn, it was an unusual sight to see electricians working on a power unit between Watzek and the freshly plowed bushes. Changes to our environment at Lewis & Clark are constant, often subtle, but sometimes shocking. Many changes happen over the summer for a variety of reasons, surprising students who return in the fall. Just over $10 million appeared in the Approved Capital Projects and Equipment budget for the following year. Facilities Services manages the projects, which have an array of purposes. Its important to consider each project in its context and understand things as parts of greater systems, said Associate Vice President of Facilities Michel George. Composting toilets are coming to LC for the first time. The initial units will be installed at the Huston Sports Complex to fill the

absence of toilets. This trial of a new method of composting will determine if more such toilets will be spread around campus to areas such as the outdoor tennis courts. The aim to deal with sewage on campus is also being addressed this summer with two major pipe section repair or replacement jobs. One of these areas is under the gravel pathways near the statue of Sacagawea, and the other stretches from the front of Pamplin Sports Center to the south side of BoDine. Changes underground mean reassessing the surface content; some of the gravel pathways will be replaced with pavers. Along with resurfacing the track and performing some maintenance work in offices and research labs, the College is investing $140,000 in furthering surveillance on campus via security cameras. Existing cameras are in the bookstore, at the Law School and monitoring the vehicle gate entries onto the academic side of campus. The additional cameras would monitor street entrances onto campus and other areas that may be susceptible to crime.

The motive in the expansion is to reduce bike thefts and other property crime. Facilities will be replacing the windows along the west side of Miller after negotiating discounted prices for self-installation. Major building rehabilitation will happen this summer on Platt West. Each year, Facilities focuses on significantly improving the conditions of one of the residence halls. Much of sustainability in building management is focused on maintenance and repair instead of replacement. LEED Certification has been given to many of the buildings at LC and is a sign of a sustainable initiative. The qualifications for LEED act more like a checklist than a comprehensive assessment of building properties. Alternative building plans include Green Globe Design and the Living Building Challenge, which has a Net-Zero Energy certification. Regardless of certification, Facilities looks to further campus sustainability, as well as to reach out and educte students further about campus projects.