Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 28, 1977)
Page 10 THE BATTALION FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1977 Off-campus living What if rent is raised By CHRIS KLING Student Legal Advisor This article is the fifth in a series focusing on the landlord-tenant re lationship. Subsequent articles will cover: raising rent and forums for complaints. What can the student-tenant do when informed that the already as tronomically high rent is going even higher? The answer to this impor tant question will be discussed from the following viewpoints: 1.) a rental contract/lease signed and in effect, 2.) a rental contract/lease signed but the termination date has passed, and 3.) no rental contract/lease was signed. specified term without the w:.s of both the student-tenant andi Few, if any, leases contain a clause prohibiting the landlord from increasing the rent during a student-tenant’s occupancy. The agreements are simply silent on this point. But, just as the student- tenant is bound by the terms of the rental contract/lease the owner is bound in a like manner. Thus, if it provides for a monthly rental rate of $225, then that amount cannot be increased or decreased during the Now t It is not of the en the nd Smoke detector sales: booming, but confusing Richard Britton and Pattycake, his 12-foot tiger Battalion photo by Jim Crawley United Press International WASHINGTON — The smoke detector market is booming, and consumers are being showered with advertising claims about faster- warning times and the lifesaving ad vantages of one device over another. start that way, and that the Gillette product provides extra seconds to evacuate the house or alert occu pants soon enough to put out the fire before it flames. owner The student-tenant need not) a new lease providing for inerts rent unless he desires to do so, student-tenant cannot be fom agree to increased rent by thret eviction. In collecting rent]) ments the owner is limited to amount specified in the rentali tract/lease. Generally, where a studf tenant continues to occupy premises past the terminationi specified in the rental contract on 8 r<)llc it is presumed legally that then ,ls tinned occupancy is according to! ,e § inni ' lf ’' terms and conditions of the iti mce '' ^ contract/lease. Consequently, less the student-tenant signs a lease taking effect immediately^ i the termination of the presenti iMU Must then the monthly rental payt bm hnc ^ will remain the same. The owner may increase the ‘They ch )flense SN only with the student-tenantsi pu Animals and the artist By JIM CRAWLEY The grass and shrubs are vaguely familiar to Richard Britton. The land is flat, the trees not too far from their neighboring stream. The ani mals are those that he has seen and sketched in the South African veldt just months ago. But, there is a dif- ferenee from the veldtland. A cy clone fence separates the land. For Britton the fencing of wild animals is a pathetic but often necessary attempt by man to pre serve the world’s dwindling wildlife population. The fence which sepa rates the British wildlife artist from his subjects forms the outline of the Wild Animals International com pound, west of Bryan. The twelve-foot fence throws a shadow on a slumbering lion bathed in the late morning sun. Nearby, a giraffe extends its long neck above the fences upper limit. Many of their fellow animals in zoos and wildlife compounds in Texas and throughout the United States are subjected to the confines of a cage. A smile brightens Britton’s face as he points out the several varieties of antelopes and birds which frequent the compound. Here is hope for a wildlife enthusiast like Britton. The animals, while being displayed for the public, also form a breeding stock for wildlife preserves and zoos. By breeding in captivity the numbers of wild animals in the wild won’t decrease as quickly. Years spent outdoors drawing and photographing exotic animals in the wild have etched themselves on Britton’s face. Not sears or prema ture age lines but an appearance of natural fulfillment. He is a man who uses what he needs and nothing more — just like the animals he paints. Wearing a khaki shirt, a functional pair of denim jeans and worn pair of hoots, he stands a solid five foot seven. His ruggedness be lies his artistic ability. His is of the outdoors — lean and hearty. Since quitting his job as a pro duction engineer six years ago, Brit ton has enjoyed being an artist of life as he sees it. Spending months at a time in the field, he returns to his native England and exhibits his finished work. Next summer he plans a show in Houston. Upon entering the compound Britton outlines his order of the day. It seems that he has this partiality toward tigers. He likes to frolic with the cats. T love animals and they seem to love me, so Tm not scared to be close with them,” explains Britton as he strolls toward the tiger enclosure. If You Had Some Beer You Could Have Beer & Barbecue If You Had Some Barbecue WE’VE GOT IT ALL AN AGGIE PLAYERS SPECIAL ATTRACTION Gabe & Walkers Real Barbecue 2 Miles West of Vet School on University Drive We’ll Be Open Sunday, Oct. 30 11 a.m. - 8:30 p.m. : :^T RUDDER FORUM 8:00 P.M. OCT. 27, 28, 29 V MURRAY SCHISGAI l€alBS0N’sl ■ PISCOUWT CEMTEIli BUD & SCHLITZ $-1 39 6-pack Cans Wed. thru Sat. 1420 TEXAS AVENUE COLLEGE STATION 846-7785 THE TRADITION OF JfUlEAC CILAJfJf ... unexcelled hair cuts in our unique atmosphere ... and at prices you can afford. Val has joined the staff of Shear Class with an impressive background of experi ence at the studios of Vidal Sassoon, Glemby’s, Paul Mitchell and Seligman- Latz. Call today for an appointment with Val, Veronica, Jerry, Judy or Elise. 209 E. UNIVERSITY DRIVE 846-4771 In the George Green Tower Pattycake, a 12 foot, (tip-of-nose to tip-of-tail) female tiger was the day’s playmate for Britton. Pattycake had snacked on a dozen pounds of prime cut the evening be fore, and the late morning sun and humidity made the eat sluggish. After a few minutes of running Pattycake on a leash, her trainer hands the case-hardened chain to Britton. Like a man petting his dog, he reaches down and strokes the coarse hairs of Pattycake’s neck and ears. Suddenly, the cat begins to roll. A rush by the trainer and Brit ton’s restraining arm counter the movement. The trainer says strok ing the tiger behind the ears is sexu ally arousing to a female tiger. Brit ton smiles and pats the eat on her side. After a few photos for his collec tion and brochure for the upcoming Houston exhibition, he begins to wander idly through the park. The industry expects to sell about eight million smoke detectors this year, some to commercial estab lishments, but many to consumers for home use. Five years ago the in dustry sold only 50,000 units during one 12-month period. At a recent test by Gillette, six smoke detectors, three of each vari ety, were placed in a room where a smoldering fire was started with sticks on a hot plate. The three photoelectric devices went off first, the ionization types several minutes later. Government safety experts see the sales boom as a healthy sign. Seven thousand Americans die in home fires annually. Most are killed, not by flames, but by smoke. Some experts have estimated up to 90 percent of those killed in home fires could he saved if their resi dences were equipped with smoke detectors. Spotting a couple of Siberian tiger kittens, Britton begins to relate a recent trip to the Victoria, Tex. zoo. With saddened eyes he tells of what he considers meager, actually brutal, conditions at the zoo. The food is poor, exercise non-existent, he says. He hopes to persuade friends to purchase some of the animals for the local wildlife com pound. Nearby, chimpanzees begin a frenzied chatter. Britton glances over his shoulder for a second, then returns to his survey of the grounds. “I’ve never liked the monkeys,” he says. “I really don’t know why, maybe they’re just too much like man and that can be depressing.” Increased detector sales are at tributed to lower prices and wide promotion. Much advertising compares photoelectric with ionization-type devices. Both sense the pressence of smoke but do it in a different way. The photo devices use a beam of light that is interrupted when smoke particles get into it. The ionization types employ radioactive particles in a small chamber. The particles create an electric charge that can be interrupted when smoke enters. Earlier this year. Consumers Union tested both types. It found photoelectric devices sound their alarms much faster than ionization types for a smoldering fire, one in which smoke gradually builds up as from a fire in furniture or a mattress. CU found ionization types are set off faster than photoelectric models in blazing fires. Gillette Co. is using the differ ences to promote its battery- powered “Captain Kelly” photoelec tric alarm. The ads say most home fires are the smoldering variety, or at least At the same time, the testers readily admitted that the reverse would have occurred if they had placed a trash can full of flaming newspapers in the room. The National Fire Prevention and Control Administration, an arm of the Commerce Department, takes no position on the controversy. The agency says consumers should only be sure the detector they buy is approved by Under writers Laboratories and meets the requirements of UL Standard 270. The federal government sets no standards for smoke detectors. The UL standard requires both types to sound their alarms when a certain amount of smoke is present. It also specifies a good life expectancy. Gillette thinks the UL rules should be made tougher, to require smoke detectors to go off earlier. That idea still is being discussed. “Both types are well within the bounds of safety,” said one official of the Commerce Department agency. The ideal would he a smoke detec tor which detects both types of fires fastest. But that would be almost impossible and would cost too much money. People didn’t buy smoke detectors when they were high priced.” Meantime, federal legislation to give smoke detector purchasers a tax deduction equal to the purchase price is stalled in the House Ways and Means Committee and not ex pected to emerge. sent, either oral or by signing lease. The typical approach tain an owner who wants to increase rent after the rental contract!! has expired is to request that , - student-tenant sign a new rti 185 s , ] contract/lease at an increased rays. 1 ia threatening a 30-day termiiiiJoM’idenn notice w ill he given if it is signed. Of course, this is method in which to increase rent. A rental contractile ‘guarantees a specific monthly al only for the term stated th was^a re A6- hec The Te> raveled to irst loss of ng Texas R Thereafter the rent may creased or decreased upon 30 notice. An oral lease agreement may sure against increased rent, dept ing upon the term of occupancy Texas, the law is such that an lease is valid if the term is no excess of one year. If the tend oral lease exceeds one yearthd lease cannot be enforced by owner or the student-tenant, oral lease for less than one guarantees the stipulated reel the agreed upon length of time, a The additional contents o( he Housto lease will include those prods agreed to by the owner and! student-tenant. The agree™ cannot be terminated or altered one party alone. Both the owner the student-tenant must agree fore an oral lease agreement can terminated or altered. Thus, rent cannot be increased during agreed upon term unless be ties consent to the increase. Under the written rental tract/lease rent payments guaranteed for the term Under an expired renta tract/lease rent is guaranteed least 30 days. An oral lease im of one year is unenforceable, an oral lease for less than one a valid agreement and r guaranteed for the agreed period. po Texas At “Every g mportant i ard said. rterbae lerence. A' Arthur Wh m 1 balane The Poi ards per j tielm. “I have a terback A think I has mv start a al me. The Ag] builder tl could help This wee ill send a I an Anton wenty to t be invoh On Satur ction will Philosophy Colloquy FREUD AND PHENOMENOLOGY Dr. Mary Rawlinson Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy Rice University 501 Rudder Tower Friday, October 28, 1977 5:00 P.M. The Public is Invited. Coming November 3-5: Southwestern Philosophical Society Meetings Coming November 7: Arthur Caplan on Sociobiology and Psychological Egoism Looking for an intramural team? Call V.P. of Programs. Randy Cursch 822-2945 HEWLETT-PACKARD Has The Latest In Scientific Calculators LOUPOT’S BOOKSTORE Your Calculator Headquarters Sun Theatres 333 University 846 The only movie in town Double-Feature Every Week Open 10 am - 2 am Mon-Sat 12 Noon - 12 Midnight Sun No one under 18 Escorted Ladies Free BOOK STORE & 25c PEEP SHOWS PIPES — CUSTOM BLENDED TOBACCO CIGARS — DOMESTIC & IMPORTED We also carry imported cigarettes: DUNHILL, BALKAN SOBRANIE & SHERMAN 3709 E. 29th St. Town & Country Center CLASS OF ’78 YOUR SENIOR CLASS PROJECT — AN INLAID MOSAIC TILE OF THE TEXAS A&M SEAL — WILL BE DEDICATED OCTOBER 29. ATTEND THE DEDICATION CEREMONY: Saturday, October 29, 1977 10:00 A.M. ACADEMIC BUILDING, 1st FLOOR “FOR THE BEST YEAR EVER!”