Once I decided MSU was where I would like to spend the next three years of my life developing into a legal professional, I began to search for apartments.

Chandler Crossings was one of the well-known apartment complexes near campus and I was told they even offered a building that was reserved for law and graduate school students at The Club.

“How perfect,” I thought to myself. Here is a building where I can share a space with like-minded individuals who also will be spending the majority of their time studying.

I was also relieved that I would be surrounded by young people. One of my greatest fears about law school was that I was starting straight out of a career as an undergraduate student at law school, a place where the average starting age is 24.

Being the prepared and always forward-looking individual that I am, three friends and I signed a lease at The Club while I was still finishing my last semester at the University of Michigan. We were told the official move-in date was Aug. 29 but that we would surely get in sooner because we would be their “first priority.”

I called their leasing office several times this summer and was assured over and over again that we were “first on the list” and that I would be contacted within one week. Much to my (naive) surprise, I was not contacted within a week.

After about three or four broken promises of returned phone calls, they told me to call them in a week myself to inquire about the status of my future apartment.

That week has passed and I am now sitting at my parents’ house getting ready to start orientation this coming Monday. When I called The Club, I was told it doesn’t look like there is anything they can do for us.

I understand when dealing with these huge realty companies — Chandler Crossings is run by Pierce Property Management — we are the little guys. I know our opinions are not as groundbreaking to them as we feel that they should be.

My only question is, are they not here to serve us?

We are the consumer, yet we are abused over and over again because we are young and they think we’re stupid.

I might be young, but I am not stupid. I feel that I have been taken advantage of and I know that I am not the only one. I have talked to many people that have had their leases lost, their phone calls not returned, and promises broken by these companies.

Why do we continue to let these huge corporations run our college campuses and disrespect the students who are their major — sometimes only — sources of income?

I am only one person but I would like to encourage students to not only stop giving business to these big companies if they don’t stop abusing our trust, but also to call them, write them letters and demand they change.

We don’t work for them. They work for us. I think it’s about time they learned that lesson.

Megan Pirooz
first-year law student