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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 23, 1998)
• • ; ' . EDITOR Erin Gibson OPINION EDITOR Cliff Hicks EDITORIAL BOARD Nancy Christensen Brad Davis Sam McKewon Jeff Randall Bret Schulte I—“ Our V > ’ VIEW Time to get even Corrupt landlords need to be dealt with After experiencing a few semesters of quartered living with hundreds of frenzied freshmen, moving to an apartment in the Lincoln ghetto of your choice can be a life saving pilgrimage. The move makes financial sense, too. Splitting rent, bills and food with a few room mates tends to be far less expensive than the ever-increasing cost of living in the commu nal “convenience” of a dormitory. Lithe end, you’re paying quite a bit less for a lot more freedom - usually. A college town with campuses located in the heart of the city, Lincoln is a breeding ground for poor housing, dirty landlords and exploited tenants. Most landlords demand a full month’s rent as deposit, money many students will never see again. As many tenants may have suspect ed, landlords in Nebraska have little or no rea son to give deposit money back. Back in 1974, the state Legislature voted on a landlord-tenant act proposed by the American Bar Association, a provision of which rendered punishment for landlords who wrongfully withheld deposits. This came in the form of paying the tenant twice his or her due deposit. The goal was to stem the exploitation of the underrepresented proper ty-rennng population. In Nebraska, the landowners successfully lobbied to have this provision mitigated - to the point where there are absolutely no penal ties if a landlord decides not to give your money back. And if you take them to court, all you receive for your efforts, if you win, is your money back. The landlord walks away. Believe it or not, students are lucky. We reap die benefits of free legal service. Located in 335 Nebraska Union, the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska’s Student Legal Services provides free consul tations and advice for students, and if required, they will even represent you in court. Shelley Stall, director of Student Legal Services, said landlords who wrongfully retain deposits account for a large proportion of their cases. To accommodate., the office has created an easy-to-follow workbook, complete with pre authored legal documents to send to negligent landlords. Stall said that by following the booklet, students enjoy a high success rate of receiving wrongfully withheld deposit money. The Daily Nebraskan staff thinks negli gent landlords are newsworthy, and we are now collecting the names of landlords with a history of renter abuse. We need your help. If you’ve had any experiences with unlaw ful or exploitative landlords, please submit their names, your name and your complaint as a letter to the editor. The letters won’t be run right away, but a list of the complaints will be compiled and investigated. Portions may be published. ' --- HHirtrt PtUcy Unsigned edtoriais are the opinions of the Spring 1996 Drily Nebraskan. They do not neceeearly reflect the views of die University of Nebraska-Lincoln, its employees, its student body or the Itaetky of Nebraska Board of Regents. A column is solely the opinion of its auSwr. The Boeid of Regents semes as ptMsher of die Daly Nebraskan; polcy is set by the Dafly Nebraskan Edtoriri Board. Tw UNL Pubfcabons Board, estabished by the regents, supervises the production of the paper. According to potfcy set by the regents, responsfcity for to editorial content of the newspaper les solely in the hands of Hs student employees. lottor Policy The Daily Nebraskan weioomes brief letters 4o fhe editor and guest columns, but does not guarantee their pubfcation. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edft or reject any material submitted. Submitted material becomes property of the Daly Nebraskan and cannot be returned. Anonymous submissions wil not be published. Those who submit letters must identify themselves by name, year in school, major and/or group affiliation, I any. Submit material to: Daly Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R SL Lincoln, NE. 68588-0448. E-mail: Ietteis9unlnfo.unl.edu. Mock’s - '/*■'* ' VIEW DN LETTERS Honorless Matthew Eickman seems to think that creating a new honors hall will cause high caliber students to come flocking to the UNL Honors Program. In my experience, being part of the program means little more than being allowed to take honors courses and getting free books. Among 400 hon ors students in my class, fewer than 20 will even complete the program. Instead of spending more money on a place to live for honors students who can’t hack it, we should invest in cre ating a truly meaningful honors pro gram. At present, it seems that the best students come to UNL not because of the Honors Program, but because of the quality education they receive as regular UNL students. My two best friends here, who decided against being part of the Honors Program, are the two smartest guys I know. If the program actually meant something, perhaps they would want to be a part of it. At present, the only use of honors housing is as a means for promoting elitism among students, most of whom can’t back up their cocky nature. Bryan Cooley senior honors student computer science and m,th/w Honorable 7' intentions /1 401* J / Thanks for theII interesting contrast |I h>| of opinions on the r 1 I opinion page of the Monday I I Daily Nebraskan. I would / I U like to add a few comments I | [ to the views expressed by j Mr. Eickman and Mr. I Forkner. We are now in the early ^ * planning stages for the f \ i Esther L. Kauffman JOi / Residential Academic A / Center for the J. D. ' Edwards Program in / Qj Computer Science and \y Management. Since the pro- ^ gram was officially estab lished last June, and^v^^ \ building planning has/ / \ a only been under way \y ■ since August, many pro I Nebraska students to stay in Nebraska, and will bring many other talented students to Nebraska - are correct. My experiences in the classroom convince me that having very good students at the university enhances the academic experiences for all students. They will definitely add to the UNL community through academics and leadership, just as is the case now with the UNL’s Honors Program. Excellent students also help to attract and retain good instructors, in turn benefiting all students. Mr. Eickman also is correct in observing that this gift will create a beautiful building in the middle of campus, which will enhance the appearance of the university. Mr. Forkner asserts that the new building specifically for honors stu dents will have its own dining hall and that the honors students will never interact with other students. At this time, the planning committee is inves tigating die costs of having a dining hall in the new building. No decision on the dining and kitchen facilities has been made yet. Policies about how students will use the dining facilities ' would only follow along after - that deci sion. In any case, the students in the J. D. Edwards Program will be taking about two-thirds of their individual degree program with other students at die university. This, together with the usual range of student activities, will allow for plenty of interaction with all the other students. I think die students in the J. D. Edwards Honors Program will be like students in the university Honors Program. The university Honors Program has changed the aca demic climate at UNL for the better. The trend will continue and be enhanced by the new Honors Programs and facilities. Steven R. Dunbar founding director J. D. Edwards Honors Program in Computer Science and Management Stop the violence Every 15 seconds, someone in America is battered in a partner vio lence situation. These victims and their batterers come to work. Domestic violence costs businesses more than $5 billion a year in medical expenses, lost wages, sick leave, absenteeism and lost productivity. Sadly, one cause of lost productivity is premature death - homicide is the leading cause of on-the-job death for women, and 20 percent of those who die are murdered by an intimate part ner at the workplace. wi. i is national woik to cuu Domestic Violence Day, and it marks the beginning of October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Employers in your community and across the country will join together y on that day to stand against domes \ tic violence. In the workplace, * these companies have policies that ensure employees are safe / at work and have access to JtW needed services. In their com f J munities, these business part CT ners, with local domestic vio / lence programs, provide much si needed assistance and sup rj ,<>port W y On Oct 1, and through ly out Domestic Violence I Awareness Month, let us all be -r aware that ending partner vio I lence is everybody’s business.