Student Senate calls for better security in off-campus rentals
By Meghan Montgomery
Athens NEWS Campus Reporter
April 28, 2008
Ohio University’s Student Senate passed a resolution last Wednesday to increase off-campus housing security, due to the recent increase in thefts and break-ins experienced by student tenants in Athens.
“Personally, I would like to see this happen because I lived in terror on Mill Street on certain nights,” said city and county affairs commissioner Amanda Estok, in reference to notoriously rowdy nights such as Halloween in Athens.
Estok and off-campus life commissioner Stefanie Skaggs were two of the Student Senate members to sponsor the resolution. Despite repeated efforts to contact them over the weekend, neither Student Senate official was available for further comment.
According to the resolution, many tenants are not allowed to install additional security due to certain lease conditions, and therefore students haven’t been able to deter the increased break-ins on campus. The resolution states that “additional locking mechanisms” are those that are “prohibited by most lease agreements.”
Athens’ building codes only require a “standard exterior lock,” as outlined in the resolution. However Student Senate is encouraging the city of Athens to reconsider the security requirements for off-campus housing, because additional locking mechanisms are proven to deter break-ins.
Senate’s resolution pushes to modify the building codes as they relate to rental housing, to “improve the quality of resident safety and security.”
Student Senate stated in the resolution that it will support the community assistants in the Off-Campus Living Office in their efforts to accomplish the desired changes.
The resolution is being presented to the Athens mayor and City Council.
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