CU rent strikes gaining strength
By WILLARD B. HARDESTY
Special to the Kansan
Boulder, Celo. -Students at the University of Colorado here are working toward staging a rent strike beginning Nov. 1.
Controversial assistant professor of law Robert Pitler is the man whose name always is mentioned in connection with the strike. He has babied the Boulder Tenants Union (BTU) through its initial formative weeks and is now handing the reins over to others—but he is still a power in the strike movement.
"We figure we need at least 1,000 people who are willing to withhold their rent to make the strike effective," Pitler said during a recent interview in his Fleming Law Building office. "At the rates prevalent in Boulder, that would be about $100,000 per month which would be withheld. If we could last six months, we take more than a half million dollars out of the Boulder economy. With the economic laws about how money is used and how it 'multiplies' before it comes to rest, that could really put a dent in the Boulder economy."
At a meeting Tuesday night in the University Memorial Center (CU's student union), about 1,200 persons showed up to voice their dislike with the rental conditions in this city of 50,000 and formally vote their approval of the strike plan.
The meeting also elected some "officials" to implement the BTU program. The city has been divided up into districts with district coordinators over-seeing activities in their areas. The BTU also has persons who will inspect apartments and houses for housing code violations and bad conditions. This group is called The Slum Lord Vigilantes. Other committees are working on research (who the owners are, what the laws are, what rent should be, where the violations are occurring, etc.) and legislation (what the laws should be, etc.). Law students have a big part in the committees and are also handling the University Legal Aid Service.
Under Colorado law and law school policy, CU law students can handle minor court cases under the direction and supervision of a practicing attorney. The Legal Aid Service is also giving free legal aid to CU students who will be involved in the strike and will help defend these students if legal action is brought against them by landlords.
Pitler said the BTU is currently negotiating with a legal firm to handle the main responsibility for all legal aspects of the strike. Pitler also said he is awaiting final confirmation from a Canadian bank to act as an escrow agent for money which will be withheld during the strike.
While rents are high and conditions in some areas bad in Lawrence, the situation is equally as bad if not worse in Boulder. Often cited as an example of high rents is a group of townhouses relatively near the campus. Required to live in this plush complex is a more-than-$500 damage-security deposit, a nine-month lease, and payment of the full
10 KANSAN Sept. 19 1969
Like most other university communities, Boulder has a "hippie hill" area where old houses are rented in whole or part for sometimes unseemly sums. This is another of the main target areas.
nine months worth of rent by
Nov. 1. The rent is a little under
$300 per month.
"We don't want to strike all the landlords," Pitler said, "just those who are charging exorbitant rents or who maintain despicable conditions. We're not out to get every landlord. But the strike is a struggle, not a game."
BTU leaders are hoping the group can round up support from groups other than students. Near Boulder are plants operated by Beech Aircraft, IBM, Neo-Data and Western Electric. The BTU hopes to enlist support from these plants as well as among minority groups in the Boulder area.
Whether the strike will be boom or bust is yet to be seen. However, it is a cause which has drawn together the campus—everyone from the SDS to the usually-staid business school. As yet there has been no reaction from the usually-hostile-to-the-students city administration.
However, there was at least one landlord in attendance at Tuesday night's meeting explaining some of the problems the landlord faces, during a dialogue with students in attendance. Despite the concern of some landlords, the rent situation has not improved. One professor reported this week to the BTU his landlord had notified him the rent would go from $115 to $220 per month—for a tiny house featuring two un-heated bedrooms and a combination furnace-room-uutility-room-bathroom.
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