tenant rights
priorities determine on campus housing choice
by mary fastenau
"the quetion is as old
as time. Which came first
the Greek houses or the resi
dence halls or the cooper
atives? What comes first on the
student's priority list is
normally what will decide
which form of on campus
housing he chooses.
Jayne Wade Anderson,
coordinator of fraternities,
sororities and cooperatives,
said that what may be con
sidered benefits of the
Greek life to some may not
be beneficial to others.
Her personal list of bene
fits includes the smallness of the Greek
houses which she said is appealing compar
ed to the larger scope of UNL. She also
said the Greek houses "resemble homes
more than concrete blocks."
Anderson listed the opportunities
young people have in the Greek system to
learn to manage money, make group
decisions and take steps to develop leader
ship. She said this is more difficult in the
residence halls because of the increased
size.
In terms of cost, Anderson said room
and board rates are "fairly equal," but
there are additional costs in the Greek
houses which the individual must decide
are worth the benefits.
1 oom and board rates in the soror
ities range from SI 24 to $162. Fraternity
rates are $150 to $180.
Additional costs include dues, pledging
fees, initiation fees and house improvement
funds.
The whole residence hall package, with
no variables involved cost $1335 or about
$148 for nine months), according to
Douglas Zatechka, director of housing.
Zatechka said that fee includes a normal
occupancy room, food, utilities, garbage,
I)
local telephone service, and
a promise to not raise the
rates during the year.
tie admitted there was a
$70 rate increase from last
year, but said one of their
goals is to remain below the
rate of inflation and they
had accomplished that.
"We like to have out
standing residence halls at
the most minimal cost possi
ble," he said.
Of the $1335 each
residence hall occupant
pays, 23.1 percent goes for
operating expenses, 29.1
percent for payroll, 28.3
percent for supplies, 15.5 percent for
bond, 3.4 percent for deductions and .06
for capital purchases.
Zatechka said the last item includes
such things as typewriters, furniture for a
lounge or something that will not need to
be replaced for some time.
Zatechka said he thinks the residence
halls are a "pretty good financial invest
ment in terms of making friends."
He said it is difficult to research people,
but students who live on campus seem to
have better social development and
perform better academically.
There is also an element of security,
Zatechka said, which helps psychological
ly. The residence halls are "safe as far as
safety is concerned," he commented.
The increasing number of students seek
ing spots in the residence halls and Greek
houses proves each must have some bene
fits, Zatechka said.
Cooperative living is another alter
native of on campus living.
Jim Lambert, president of the Brown
Palace Cooperative, said that the main
advantage of living in a cooperative is that
it is "much less expensive."
Lambert, a junior pre-med major, said
I . I II. M. I I. .
Douglas Zatechka, UNL
director of housing.
residents pay $ 1 20 a month which includes
all meals except Sunday evening.
The cost is minimal because residents do
their own cleaning and maintenance, he
said. Residents have daily details such as
serving meals and weekly details that in
clude things like cleaning the kitchen.
Semester details he said, are work projects
to improve the house.
Lambert said any male can live in the
cooperative if he is a full time student.
Jayne Wade Anderson, UNL
coordinator of fraternities,
sororities and cooperatives.
The cooperative has officers which
handle problems that may arise. A main
tenance problem for example, is referred to
the house manager.
The Cornhusker Coop, the other coop
erative, is also near capacity this semester,
according to coop member Augusting Liu,
a chemistry graduate student.
He said Cornhusker residents pay $125
a month and their system is the same as
Brown Palace.
low price draws long wait for UNL family housing
1 .
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The UNL family housing complex at 4300 Holdrege St. has one- and two-bedroom
furnished apartments.
by mary fastenau
a
large chunk of a
student's time at UNL is
spent standing in line.
You need two hours to
buy your books, 60 minutes
for the drop and add line
and three hours to become a
Big Red fan.
One of the longest lines
at UNL is one you never
see, the line of people wait
ing for University family
housing.
According to Carma Lea
McPherson, staff assistant
for family housing, there is
a waiting list of one to one
and a half years for furnish
ed one-bedroom apartments.
She said UNL has two types of family
housing. The apartment complex at 4300
Holdrege St. has one- and two-bedroom
furnished apartments. The other complex,
which is between 3300 and 3400 Starr St
has two- and three-bedroom unfurnished
apartments.
McPherson said price has to be part of
the appeal of the apartments. There are 30
one-bedroom furnished apartments which
rent for $125 a month and 10 two
bedroom units which are $137 per month.
She said that utilities are paid for these
Holdrege street units.
t
hose in the unfinished must pay
either $163 or $153 for the
three -bed room upits and
$143 or $138 for the two-
n i . i oearoom apanmems. mere
Sl I J are four three-bedroom
rlSa units and 24 two-bedroom.
To be eligible to live in
these apartments yon must
be a full-time student. A
graduate student must have
a letter from the head of his
department which says he
is a full-time student.
One-bedroom artments
are never given to raniilies,
McPhersons said. However,
if a couple has a child while
living in a one-bedroom
unit, they go to the top of
the list for the larger apart
ments. To apply for this housing a student
telephones, writes or visits the housing
office which is in 1108 Seaton Hall. An
application is sent to the interested party,
and if they return the form, it is placed in
the file. The applications are filed by the
date they are received in the office.
To assure that the applicants are kept
current, McPhersons said they send a letter
to all of the applicants at the end of each
school period. If they do not return the
letter, their names are taken off the list.
She stressed that each contact with an
applicant is recorded so the file may be
kept current.
page 6
fathom
friday, September 8, 1978