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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 4, 1990)
Page16 Battalion Housing Guide Wednesday, April 4,1! Rush for apartments starts early OCA coordinator urges students to begin hunt for fall housing By JILL BUTLER Of The Battalion Staff It’s the time of year when all students seem to come down with spring fever, and responsibilities suddenly can lose importance when it’s sunny outside. Reality strikes, however, when finals are a week away and roommates look at each other and ask, “Where are we going to live next year?” Nancy Thompson, coordi nator of the Off Campus Cen ter, said the best time to begin looking for a new place to live in the fall or summer is the week after spring break. “Students should start looking early because they are under a lot of stress in April with finals and papers,” Thompson said. “Sometimes because of this stress students make unwise, hasty decisions about their living arrange ments.” However, Thompson said, she does believe it’s possible to begin looking for a new place to live too early. “I don’t think there’s a need to begin looking for a new apartment before spring break, unless you have your heart set on a particular apartment,” Thompson said. She said many students panic because they feel like there will not be any apart ments available later in the spring semester. Thompson said this panic starts because some apartment managers ask residents in February if they are returning in the summer or fall. “There’s not a time that’s too late to look for housing, unless you have to have the perfect place,” Thompson said. “There are still excellent opportunities (for fall leases) in the summer.” Thompson said some apart ment complexes are simply more popular than others and these complexes do fill up and have waiting lists. She said, however, that this a very small portion of com plexes. This past fall there were more than 500 empty apartment units in Bryan-Col- lege Station, not including du plexes or complexes with less than 20 units, Thompson said. “There are still apartments available on the first day of fall classes,” Thompson said. But Carolyn Lambright, a leasing agent at Parkway Cir cle Apartments, said she rec ommends looking for fall-se mester apartments early in the spring. “If you want a place really bad, start looking at the begin ning of February,” Lambright said. She said all 48 of Parkway Circle’s three-bedroom apart ments already are rented for the fall. Parkway Circle managers ask residents at the end of Jan uary if they plan on renewing their leases, Lambright said. She said when students start looking for apartments they should call complex managers first and make sure there are available apartments. Kevin Kelley, a leasing consultant at Plantation Oaks Apartments, said if students wait too long to look for an apartment they will be disap- poionted with the available choices. Kelley said students should start looking for apartments the week before spring break and should have their minds made up by April 15. “There are a lot of factors to consider,” Kelley said. “Many students want a specific carpet color, cost, floor plan, loca tion and other amenities. “The sooner students look for apartments, the more choices they will have. If stu dents wait until the end of the semester, they will be lucky to find a floor plan they like, not to mention cost consider ations.” He said as soon as residents of any apartment complex Photo by Steven M. Noreyko Jennifer Nottingham, a junior chemical engineering major takes down phone numbers of prospective roommates from cards in the Off Campus Center Tuesday afternoon. know they will not be renew ing their lease, they should tell their apartment managers. This will speed up the process of returning residents’ security deposits, Kelley said. Students living on campus who will not live there next fall had to notify the housing office of their plans on their housing contract renewals March 27 and 28_. If they notify the housing office that they will be moving off campus after April 15 and before May 30, they will re ceive 75 percent of their de posit. Fitfy percent of the de posit will be refunded until June and 25 percent of the de posit will be refunded until July 30. If students filled out their contract renewals and stated they would be living on cam pus again, but changed their mind, they have until April 15 to notify the housing office and receive 100 percent of their $200 housing deposit. Share (Continued from page 13) older, between the ages of 26 and 30, Owens said. The ma jority are male, and they are not heavily involved in extra- curricular activities. “They’re here to get an edu cation,” she said. One such student is David Lrnstes, a sophomore wildlife and fisheries science major from Fayette County. He has participated in the program for four semesters. “It wasn’t one of those things I knew about,” Emstes said. “It’s kind of a funny sto ry.” Ernstes was a Smithsonian Intern the summer before his freshman year, and he failed to get in the lottery system for dorm rooms. But his partici pation in the Aggie Elder Share Program has worked out well. “I have a place to stay (and) it’s quiet,” he said. “It’s like the Hilton. I check in and out.” Ernstes lives with Joyce Heiman, whose husband died a month and a few days short of their 55th wedding anniver sary. Her grandson, who had been living with her, moved to Florida and she had no rela tives in town. “It was pretty lonely,” Hei man said. So she called Owens and decided to invite someone into her home who could assist her. Ernstes and his mother came over and they hit it off, she said. Her grandson, who is back in town and living with her again, also gets along with Emstes. Heiman said Emstes studies a lot, and she doesn’t need him to do a lot of things, but he helps out when she asks. “He lets the cats in and out for me and the dog in and out if I ask him,” she said. “Just knowing there’s someone here (helps). He’s just somebody nice.” Emstes goes home every weekend to work, and he eats in Sbisa, so he is really only in town for four days during the week. But he said Heiman is fit and able to take care of her self. “She can do anything she wants,” he said. “It’s a sym biotic relationship. We both benefit.” Owens said the Aggie Elder Share Program is not a pro gram for everyone. She stressed that students are not medical assistants for the el derly person. “The main need is for com panionship (and) security,” she said. Owens said she gets a big rush of students in April, May and August. She said she needs to better market the pro gram to the community. “I have (two to three times) more students interested in participating than homeow ners.,” she said. Heiman said she remembers reading about the program in the newspaper, but Owens said program information is spread in the community through the grapevine. Most of the participating homeowners support A&M, Owens said, and by boarding a student, feel they are doing their part. There is a national home sharing program which matches anybody, she said. But the Aggie Elder Share Program is different. “This is a unique program,” Owens said. Matching stu dents and older homeowners is not easy. In Houston, 50 matches a year is considered good, she said. Emstes said a successful ex perience with the Aggie Elder Share Program is a matter of matching up the right people. Married (Continued from page 15) and two-bedroom units are open to students. Burke said there is a notice able price difference in mar ried student housing from other further off-campus apart ments. While the price may be lower, most tenants get what they pay for, she said. “Right now, there is an ob vious need for some im provements,” she said. “Un fortunately, the University is reluctant to get involved. They (the University) feel that reno vations would be seen as be coming involved in the apart ment business.” Apartments are furnished with cooking space, parking, and gardening plots. In addi tion there is a garage, study room, and council room for parties. Although the parking situa tion is not perfect, Burke said, it is not quite as bad as the campus problem. She said that lately cars from the Zachry parking lot have been spilling over into the apartment’s lot. The University Police De partment patrols the apart ments. Like in the residence halls, pets are not allowed in the apartments. ECONOMICAL APARTMENTS Academic Village-3900 Old College Rd 846-9196 2 Bdrm/1 Bath $285 Casa Blanca-4110 College Main 846-1413 2 Bdrm. $275 Scholar’s Inn - 401 Cooner 846-3050 Efficiency $215 furnished All well maintained • Professor owned • Student managed Reasonable rent NOW LEASING TREEHOUSE VILLAGE- APARTMENTS 800 Marion Pugh, College Station, Tx. For Summer, Fall & Spring Eff., 1 & 2 Bdrm. Units Special Summer Rates pools tennis Jacuzzis basketball volleyball gazebos and more! 764-8892 t=l Apartment complexe offer units equipped for disabled students By SUZANNE CALDERON Of The Battalion Staff While the majority of dis abled students live on cam pus for convenience, three apartment complexes in College Station have facili ties for the disabled. Susan Libiak, student de velopment specialist for Texas A&M’s Handicapped Student Servies said Oak- wood Apartments, Tree- house Village Apartments and Eastmark Apartments have units equipped with wheelchair ramps, wide doorways, pull bars and other features making the apartments accessible for a wheelchair. Oakwood Apartments has 23 accessible units, Tree- house Village has 12 units and Eastmark has four units. Most of the apart ments are efficiency units. Some disabled students find living with an attendant makes life easier. “The attendant is a person hired by the (disabled) stu dent to take care of their physical needs,” Lubiak said. An attendant helps the person dress, shower and cook meals and also is there in case of an emergency, she said. Attendants for disabled students are coordinated through Handicapped dent Services. Lubiak applicants are screened interviews are arranged be tweenthe students. The disabled student hires the attendant, Handicapped Student Sen ices coordinates the inte views, Lubiak said. Providing transporation another job for attendants None of the Universif buses are equipped wheelchair-lift equipment Doug Williams, bus opera tions manager said. Lubiak said many dents also use the services of Med-Trans and Brazot Transit, private transporta tion services, to get town. Lyle Nelson, associate administrator for the Urban Transit System Med-Trans and Brazos Transit provide transporta tion for the disabled to the grocery store, doctor or other destinations besides the A&M campus. N said Med-Trans and Brazos Transit need special permis sion to go on campus. “All they need to do call us 24 hours in advance so we can save them a seat Nelson said. Roommate (Continued from page 14) together when they got to col lege. “People who went to high school together don’t realize how much someone can change in a college environ ment between August and De cember of the freshman year,” Rausch said. “Anyone can change each year depending on what they come in contact with and who their friends are. Their values about modesty, propriety and sexual relationships can change drastically so the other people in the apartment need to allow for some change. Don’t expect them to stay static. Keep the lines of com munication open.” Rausch said the biggest complaints from roommates about their roommates involve overnight guests of the oppo site sex, refusal to pay bills, noise level conflict and respect. Communication is key to overcoming these pro lems, she said. To avoid the most preval roommate conflicts, 0CC ommends asking potenli roommates the followir questions before the lease signed. • How much sleep do tht need? • How do they like spend money when they it? • What kinds of habits they have that might be impel tant to know about? • What do they like to to relieve stress and when they prefer to do it? • What annoys then cheers them up, makes nervous? • What are their religioi values? The best way to avoid prot lems is to treat your roomma how you would like to treated, she said. Pets (Continued from page 15) for the furniture, the manage ment doesn’t allow residents to have pets. “About 25 percent of the people we show (the apart ment) to, are turned away be cause they have pets,” West brook said. Ava Hill, a Doubletree Con dominiums representative, said all of the condos have dif ferent owners and they belong to a home owners association. “The home owners just de cided they didn’t want to allow pets,” Hill said. “I am sure that’s because they don’t want their things all tom up and don’t want the yard full of dog mess.” Trudi Carpenter, a senior environmental design major from Fort Worth, is a cat owner. Carpenter’s roommate Lisa Evans, a senior safety en gineering major from Euless, owns a dog. Carpenter doesn’t predict that she and Evans will have '0 their pet deposit retumef full. “Casper (the dog) is stil his chewing stage and he of chewed up the cabinets made holes in the wall,” penter said. “One of the lems I have with Casper is t he is a little too big for apartment.” Carpenter and Evans, occupy a two bedroom ment, agree that Casper growing a little too aggressive “Lisa is getting upset him (and) it may be time change Casper from a ‘he an ‘it’,” Carpenter said. Carpenter’s cat, Tom®! and Casper are buddies, si said. She said the biggest pro: lem is that Carpenter at Evans don’t get to spef enough time with the pets I) cause of their classes, camp activities and working sche ules. Charlotte Walker, a sopl* more psychology major froi Plano, said her roomntf owned a dog last year doesn’t any longer because' was too difficult to care for Vol.89 No.' By JILL BUTL Of The Battalio Texas A&M admission will 1991 because this past year. Dr. Erika coordinator ai said the Texas memo requiri enforce immi sion. Every incoi dent planning cal history fori A&M offici requirement t fore they are; Fact By CHRIS VAI Of The Battalio Despite dis Texas A&M f how they are f tors say its pay plex to change Many A&M pecially profe is teaching, ai nine months. But faculty with getting f they are upsei of getting pa since long-tei quired to m; months. Some teaci Par con By ANDY KE Of The Battal Parents’ \ Texas A&M family mem off Friday through Sun Parents’ began as a ers’ Day check up c Over th developed end. In If flict with Weekend Generally, weekend i date does Weekend. The f< schedule 1990: FRIDAY: • Fede ers’ Club p.m. in th< • Picti from 1 to room. • Who’ p.m. in2( • Basel versity, at • MS' Night Ur 10:30 p.i rium. • 19! Spring ' A Mattox