• The family housing office suddenly increased the rent by 6% without any prior notice this year. They asked the tenants to decide whether to renew the lease or not within two weeks of this abrupt news. This year many graduate students are already struggling with increased living cost.
• The reason they have shown for the rent increase is an increased cost and a deficit that they are running in maintaining family housing apartments. This is a surprising claim. The family housing apartments were built in 1968. They development cost of these units have long been paid off.There are also reasons for not completely trusting the administration about this claim.
• When the tenants’ association asked the university authority to show their accounts to prove that they are actually running a deficit and the cost of maintaining family housing apartments are more than what they make from existing rent, they refused to show it to the tenants. The last time UMass wanted to raise the rent four years ago, they were also told to show their books and as a result did not have any excuse to make the rent increase stick. That time it was evident that Family housing makes a lot more money than they need to spend for maintaining the apartments. They had a very healthy surplus in their account.
• The administration has been very hostile and outrageously demeaning to students when family housing tenants did a rally and talked to the Vice Chancellor of Students Affairs, Esther Terry. She kicked out in a very bad manner the SGA president Malcom from the meeting pointing that he did not live in Family housing. SGA president, however, is the representative of 1/4 of family housing residents who are undergrad students. She shamelessly went for scare tactics. When she realized that there were many International students in tenants’ association, she started making comments like: “Don’t forget that you are in this country on a temporary visa. No matter where you go, as long as you are students or even working under OPT, your visa is dependent on our sponsorship.”
• Efforts to meet with anyone from the administration as a follow up have been completely unsuccessful. The university is basically giving a deaf ear to the tenants’ demand to have a conversation about the rent increase.
• UMass Family housing happens to be one of the costliest places to live when the rent is considered as a per square foot basis and compared to other apartment complexes.
  The only other apartment complex in the area with a higher per square foot rent is Puffton Village, which has swimming pool, tennis courts and well maintained paved roads.
• The last time UMass family housing apartments were renovated were 25 years ago. Many of the apartments are infested with roaches and vermin. Many of these apartments also do not meet the minimum Massachusetts sanitary law. The university has been avoiding meeting those requirements by using some loopholes in the law.
• Family Housing is the only apartment complex where you need to pay an extra $97 just to park your car. All other renting places, parking is free.
• The administration maintains that a 6% rent increase is not much, especially when they have not increased any rent over the last four years. The fact is, this increase amounts to at least $500 more per year. With an average grad employee salary of $14,000, a student had already been paying more than 50% on rent. This is when the student has a full assistantship. Many graduate students only get a 10 hour or half assistantships during a school year. In that case, they were spending more than 75% of their income on rent.
• Many of the residents of Family housing are international students on F1 visa. These students are allowed to work a maximum of 20 hours per week on campus. Their spouses or dependents are not allowed to work at all. Under these circumstances, a 6% rent increase is like the last straw that is breaking the camel’s back.
• The university administration and housing people have continued with their shameless policy of intimidation. Since they know that most of the residents of the family housing are international students, a threatening letter would be sufficient to make them all bow to the unjust acts of the administration. Finally they have issued 93 eviction letters on Aug 27.
• Each year, there are many students who can not sort out their finances until well into the Fall session. As a result, many of the tenants sign their lease as late as October, November, or even December. Never did these delays cause any problem in the past. This year, the university has issued eviction letters in August for tenants who have not signed the new lease yet. This is a naked example of a retaliatory move from the university administration.
• The administration has a notion that there is always many people waiting in the line for apartments in the family housing. These people will be happy to pay the increased rent to get into family housing accommodation. The reality is the turnover of apartments at family housing is a pinnacle of poor management. At any point in time, there are many apartments empty in the whole complex. The university can save and probably make a lot more money just by making sure that there are not too many empty apartments sitting idle.
• There is also a false notion that the tenants are just doing it for the sake of getting a bargain from the university. THIS SIMPLY IS NOT THE FACT. The reality is that students are really struggling. MANY OF THE STUDENTS HAVE NOT BEEN PAYING THE INCREASED RENT, SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY CAN’T AFFORD TO. THEY JUST DON’T HAVE THE EXTRA MONEY.

ABC40 reporter Jim Cline came to North Village to interview some tenants. In this report, he talks about how the rent increase is hurting the already struggling tenants, the intimidation and scare tactics being played by the Umass administration, the total disrespect the university has been showing to its students and the overall living conditions in family housing.

News video link

This is the highlights from today’s meeting.

Both GSS and GEO officers were present in the meeting. They went from door to door to collect information about who have signed the lease and who have received eviction letters. Both GEO and GSS officers understand the importance of fighting this battle well. Getting all the tenants to bow down to the rent increase will create a very negative impression about the strength and effectiveness of all Grad organizations. When GEO goes for our next round of negotiation (salary, health benefits etc), the administration may come to the table with the feeling that they know how to get graduate students to accept anything (just or unjust) they shove down our throat.

We don’t have a whole lot of time. We need to make the administration come and talk to the tenants by running a massive awareness and media campaign. Here is a proposed list of things to do:

1. Go to the Chancellors breakfast event on Aug 28 morning to distribute flyers and talk to the Chancellor.

2. Start distributing flyers in Bluewall and other places in the campus to raise awareness about the poor living condition, its relative expense and the retaliatory eviction process started by Family housing.

3. Draft a Press Release describing how the university is showing heavy handedness in dealing with a big part of its students with a family, many of whom are financially and socially vulnerable. Send the letter to all local news media.

5. Write a letter describing the problem to be sent to all the Deans, VCs, the provost and to the Chancellor.

We hope this awareness and media campaign will bring quick attention from the administration. We need to move fast. With the unified effort of GEO, GSS, TA and all the volunteering tenants, we should be able to run an effective movement.

Information gathered by Tenants Coalition and put together by Nahir President, UMass GSS.

1.       Letter to Amherst Board of Health…Need volunteers to work with Nahir on a final draft to send to Amherst Board of Health request health and safety inspections. Letter needs to be ready to be sent out by the end of the week.

2.       Update on Fuel assistance issue… why and how is the state denying the appeals? What can we do about it? If anything.  

3.       Update on parking pass for the fall

4.       Form Committees: Direct/Public  Action, BBQ, Public Relations

5.       Chancellor Cole’s Farewell event July 24 from 4-6. Who is planning on attending? What is the game plan? We need at least 10 people to make plan work. .. Can get materials from geo/gss to make signs. Gather before event to make signs.

6.       Start planning BBQ for Family Housing….

7.       Help from Sally and family housing

8.       Any other suggestions or comments?

URGENT!!!!!
WE NEED VOLUNTEERS!!!!

We are planning to attend Chancellor Cole’s Farewells event today from 4-6pm.

This event is at the Marriott Center on the 11th Floor in the Campus Center. We plan to keep a low-profile while working the crowd by talking to the attendies and handing out flyers at the event to inform them about the cost difference from on campus housing vs off campus housing.  This is an opportunitie to spred the word of the housing issue to more admission personal. As of right now we only have about 5 people from the Tenant Association volunteering we would like to have at least 10 volunteers.

If you have two and half extra hours today take the time and help out with
this!

PLEASE!!! PLEASE!!!! COME OUT AND HELP!!!
Contact person is Saulo saulocolon@gmail.com

After talking to many tenants I was thinking about other items that the Tenants Association can work on

1. Sally from Wysocki House said if we made up a welcome form for new tenants to sign if they would like to be greeted by the TA, she would add it to the welcome package. And the Tenants Association bringing them some kind of welcome to the neighborhood gift. This would also give us a chance to invite the new tenants to our meeting to update them on what is going on in family housing.

2. Work with the other people who are already running events for family housing i.e. movie afternoon for the kids in H-2, Christmas/ Santa Claus and other events and bring in more events like those.

3. Bringing up with the town of Amherst about posting pedestrian crossing signs in front of North Village. Sally has tried but with no prevail.

4. Encourage community service around North Village picking up i.e. trash in laundry room and around the grounds.

5. Forming a neighborhood watch near the large playground, vandalism and what not.

Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday July 23 at 7pm between the H-2 lot and the soccer field.

Some of the points that we will be covering will be on the issue of fuel assistance, Chancellor Cole’s farewell event, and a large BBQ for Family Housing.

1. we have decided that we will have a meeting every Wednesday outside of H-2 at 7:00PM Amber the Secretary will be responsible for making a poster to be posted as a reminder.
2. We have wrote a letter to to Jorge Gomez, the Director of Housing, Charlena Seymour the Senior Vice Chancellor and Ester Terry the Intern Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs requesting a sit down within 5 days to discuss and resolve the issues concerning family housing. After 5 days we as a Tenant Association will
write a letter to Amherst Board of Health request an inspection of all of family housing. A cope of this letter that has been edited by legal associates is attached.
3. We went over the two main possibilities that the letter could result in: a meeting with the Director of Housing, the Senior Vice Chancellor and Intern Vice Chancellor or them not taking us serious.
A. If they make a meeting with us we are in the process of drafting up negotiation papers. We also thought if the University is not will to stop the rent increase that we will ask for them to remove the parking fee because typically a parking space comes with an apartment if a lot is available. Also to
remove the monitory telephone bill.
B. We plan to have a media coverage of bringing a poster size copy of the letter that we are sending to the Amherst Board of Health plus enlarged pictures of the health and safety code violations within housing, after the 5 day grace period that we are giving the director of housing. This would be a type of Positive
Direct Action. This action is being headed up by the Vice President Salos
4. A group of personal from TA are planing to attend Chancellor Cole’s farewell event being held of July 24 on Campus. This action is being headed up by the Vice President Salos
5. Under Public Action… We are planning a BBQ for all of Family Housing to bring all of the tenants together and to pass on any and all news.
A. We plan to have media coverage there to show the public the state that family housing is in.
B. At the same time it is in talks to make this a joint meeting with a GEO Membership Meeting. Proposed date is August 6th. The reasoning behind the joint meeting is that GEO and GSS are trying to work with the TA to fund a position for the TA because of the work the TA is doing. The GEO leadership states that their proposed donation of $5000 to GSS earmarked to Tenants Association used must be approved by GEO membership.
6. The issue with getting a new parking permit is being looked into. Hopefully we will have answers soon.                                                                                                                     7.Tamia will be in charge of updating the TA database and email list.
8. Fuel assistance related issues, and the actions we will take, will be
discussed at next meeting, Wednesday 23, 7 pm

There will be a meeting of those interested in dealing with the forthcoming rent increase in Family Housing, the denial of fuel assistance subsidies, as well as organizing a stronger and more cohesive Tenant’s Association.  The meeting will take place Thursday, May 22 at 7:00pm, and will meet at the Graduate Student Senate (GSS) office in Campus Center room 919.