PAGE 8
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TENANT FROM PAGE 1
said. "Everyone has to be up front and know who is responsible for what."
A LEGAL BATTLE
Although there is a course of action for tenants to follow, many students do not fight against wrongful charges.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012
"The deposit is the tenant's money," Larzalere said. "If you cleaned up and didn't do any damages, you should get your money back. That's the way the system is set up. Too many students just say, 'Oh, forget it, I don't want to fight to get it back.' Landlords count on that."
Matney said she and her roommates did not fight back.
"We were all moved out, and everyone is dealing with jobs now," Matney said. "We all decided to pay it and move on."
But another student, John Smith, who is being kept anonymous because he is in the middle of a legal battle, is taking a different approach. The student did not pay a security deposit at the complex he lived at last year. He was charged more than $850 for damages, including charges for painting, replacing the mattress, replacing an ottoman and cleaning carpets.
One of Smith's roommates spoke with management and was able to reduce his bill from $650 to $90.
"They are false charges, and they know they are," Smith said. "They can't back them up in any way."
After his roommate's charges were reduced, Smith spoke with management, expecting the same results. However, most of his charges went unchanged. Smith met with a lawyer at Student Legal Services and plans to fight back.
"I'm definitely not going to pay $850," Smith said. "It's a pain in the ass. It's such a hassle."
Matney and Criss recommend taking photos of an apartment during move-in and speaking to people who previously lived in the same place or under the same landlord before signing a lease.
WHAT TO DO
Tim suggests treating a rental property like it is your parents' home, and leaving it cleaner than it was when you moved in.
"If there is beer and tomato juice flung against the wall and it's not cleaned up, you're going to get charged for it," Tim said.
If a student is having any disagreement with a landlord, Larzalere recommends contacting Student Legal Services, which is a free service.
"We can get you in within a short time," he said. "We contact landlords all the time to try to get money back; it's one of our high priorities."
—Edited by Christy Khamphilay
Like other students, senior Blaine Criss is finding himself in a dispute with his landlord about his previous apartment's security deposits.
TYLER BIERWIRTH/KANSAN
CHAT FROM PAGE 1
rankings, certain components will affect them.
These include graduation rates, retention of first-year students, admission requirements and credentials of faculty.
FUTURE OUTLOOK
The University received $3 million from the state legislature this summer to hire 12 new professors.
Gray-Little said this is the first full year the University will implement changes to its faculty and student recruiting strategy. Some changes were made last year, and the University had positive results.
"I would want to see us fill a number of those foundation professorships, so we know by the end of they year who is coming," Gray-Little said.
One of the changes to recruitment that Gray-Little would like to see improved is electronic communication with potential applicants.
"For students who show some interest, we need to make sure we're following up regularly and in
a personalized way, ensuring that students who come to campus have a good experience and we put them in contact with the right people," she said.
One of the University's goals has already been met. This summer, the University Cancer Center earned the distinction of National Cancer Institute.
"This is something that has been a major effort at the cancer center for several years," Gray-Little said. "There was rejoicing in the streets. That has been very, very important."
To combat student costs, the University established the Far Above campaign, which started in April and will conclude in 2016. Part of the campaign is providing scholarships, fellowships and other financial assistance to students.
RESPONDING TO STUDENT
DEBT
"That's happened lots of places around the country," she said. "In a public university, the rate of tuition
In the U.S., total student loan debt exceeds total credit card debt. And, this summer, the Kansas Board of Regents approved a tuition increase at the University. This semester, incoming freshmen who are residents of Kansas paid 4.9 percent more in tuition and fees. Non-resident tuition increased 5 percent.
Gray-Little said that most of the scholarship money comes from donations. The Kansas University Endowment Associationreported that more than $150 million in gifts and future commitments was given to the University last year, and a record 46,257 people contributed.
is going up as funding from other sources is going down."
Gray-Little said workstudy,federal and state loans are also helpful for students.
"Scholarship funding is something we're trying to use very wisely," Gray-Little said. "We're trying to raise more money for scholarship through the campaign; that's one of the reasons the campaign is important."
The next "Fireside Chat" is scheduled for Oct. 4.
NATIONAL
Edited by Andrew Ruszczyk
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer discusses his new project titled "Open Air," commissioned by the Association for Public Art, in Philadelphia. The interactive light installation using 24 robotic searchlights plans to illuminate the night sky over the Benjamin Franklin Parkway from the scheduled dates of September. 20 to October 14.
Philly artist translates words into beams of light in sky
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHILADELPHIA — A new interactive artwork opening in Philadelphia will make light of your words, but it's probably not what you think.
Montreal-based artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer is preparing to flip the switch on "Open Air," an interactive work that will translate voice messages into moving beams of light over a tree-lined parkway named for Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia's cultural district.
Record your soapbox declarations, poems, grips, wishes and shout-outs of up to 30 seconds on the "Open Air" iPhone app or online, then watch 24 robotic searchlights slowly sweep through the night sky in patterns and intensity determined by your vocal signature and GPS location.
The spectacle starts Thursday and runs through Oct. 14, from 8-11 p.m. each night.
"Philadelphia has traditions of free speech and democracy. ... We wanted to take that background and implement technology to visualize it," said Lozano-Hemmer, who was commissioned about four years ago to create the work. "We wanted to take free speech and make it materially visible in the city."
On clear nights, the artist's sky-high vox populi will be visible from 10 miles away. His site-specific installations have been presented worldwide, but "Open Air" is his first outdoor search project in
the U.S.
Want to beam yourself up? From anywhere in the world, messages can be recorded through the project's website (www.openairphily.net) or after downloading a free iPhone app debuting Sept. 20. Loaners will be available at on-site locations for the non-iPhone crowd.
Messages recorded on the parkway — your smartphone's GPS gives you away — are automatically bumped to the front of the queue. As the light pattern activates, its originator gets a heads-on on their
phone and the canopy of roving searchlights briefly form a dome in the air above the person's location.
Anyone can simultaneously hear the speakers' messages through the Open
"We wanted to take free speech and make it materially visible in the city."
Organizers expect the inevitable "Yo, Vinnie!" and "Go Eagles!" exclamations but urge participants to take the opportunity to say something meaningful, funny, inspirational, challenging — and appropriate. Online entries will be kept in check by users' votes; on-site messages won't be censored, but the light canopy and being visible in the crowd should act to deter of
RAFAEL LOZANO-HEMMER Artist behind "Open Air" project
Air app or website or through two low-volume listening spots on the parkway. Or people can choose to simply watch the silent display as its travels through the air.
fensive comments.
"If you're on the parkway speaking, we all know where you are, and in a way it's pretty much like any public space: If you say something that's moronic, well, other people can see you do that and you self-regulate," Lozano-Hemmer said. "We need to moderate a little bit more online because of the anonymity."
Interspersed among the everyday people will be prerecorded messages from past and present Philadelphiaans including filmmaker David
Lynch, late Phillies announcer Harry Kalas, hip hop artist Santiago and classical pianist Andre Watts. All messages and corresponding light designs will also be archived on
There are uncertainties inherent in ambitious projects that rely on public participation, however. Despite all the planning and work, what if people don't show up? Lozano-Hemmer and Penny Balkin Bach, executive director of the Association for Public Art, which commissioned the work, are confident that won't be the case.
the project website for posterity.
"We don't know the results — that's what so fascinating about this," Bach said. "We can't wait to see what will happen."
1
---