The Collegian

Issue date: 9/6/07 Section: News

Media Credit: David Wasmer Workers remove shingles from a house in Hillsdale on Tuesday.

Media Credit: David Wasmer Some students have a tough time with their rental houses.

Faced with an unfinished home upon returning to campus in mid-August, sophomore Jonathan Brewer made a decision less appealing to off-campus students.

He jumped back to on-campus living in Niedfeldt Residence for this year rather than wait for the house to be complete.

"The administration handled it pretty well; they were real helpful," Brewer said.
And registration "just kind of fell into place," he said. Brewer is enjoying the dorm and life with his freshman roommate.

But Brewer's two potential housemates are still waiting for house repairs, and will live in the troublesome West Street residence when possible. They declined comment.

This scenario is uncommon, but for those returning to campus with intentions of decorating, a moving snag quickly piles atop other early semester happenings like arranging classes, buying books and reuniting with friends.

Unfinished plumbing, crooked hinges, faulty wiring and flying bats added to the fracas this year.

"The basement pretty much stunk when we first got here," junior Ben Davis said.

Davis lives with seven friends in a packed house at the corner of River and Oak streets.

Davis's house is without air conditioning. So instead of "sweating it out" one night, he spent a night on-campus at the Suites Residence.

In addition, the dryer was on the blink and a bat got into the house-no one knows how. A toilet was clogged after someone tried to "flush a tube of toothpaste" last year and many of the lights sockets didn't work.

"The landlord dealt with all of the problems really well," Davis said.

The plumbing, sockets, dryer and bat have all been taken care of, he said.

As for fifth-year senior Lauren Longley's house on Fayette Street, which she shares with a fellow fifth-year senior, Mary Scapino, it is without a third inhabitant who decided not to live in the house at the last minute. Complications regarding the contract for the house almost forced Longley and Scapino to pay for the third part of the rent.

With that issue behind her, Longley said, a large leak in the living room ceiling dripped with rain.

In addition to joining Davis in the "I don't have air conditioning" club, Longley deals with a bathroom faucet knob that can spin forever in one direction as the water goes on and off, on and off.

Cabinet doors hang on crooked hinges in her kitchen.

"Houses in Hillsdale are so old, there are lots of little things that are wrong," Longley said.

For whatever reason, students continue to work through off-campus housing snags.

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