FEATURES
Spartans show off dorm rooms
Kinesiology freshman Amanda LaPres and advertising freshman Kailey Cox are roommates with impressive living quarters.
MICHIGAN
Officials predict drastic decrease in taxable value of residential homes
East Lansing officials are projecting about a $35 million total drop in the taxable value of the city’s residential homes for the 2012-13 fiscal year, a loss equating to about a 6.3 percent drop in overall value, according to city budget documents. The documents estimate the overall taxable value of homes in the city will drop from about $555.5 million in fiscal year 2011-12 to about $520.5 million in fiscal year 2012-13.
COMMENTARY
Students unfairly rushed to sign leases
No student can predict the future. However, by pressuring them to sign leases as early as a year in advance, property management companies are asking students to do just that. Being pressured to sign a lease to live off-campus in October for the following fall is too early for students’ ever-changing plans.
MICHIGAN
Ground broken for new East Lansing homes
Members of East Lansing’s Hometown Housing Partnership, city officials and others witnessed the ground-breaking ceremony for a new project at 1321 Wolf Court on Tuesday
Brooks Laimbeer
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MSU
Housing fair gives students options
Poster boards, flyers, T-shirts and plastic cups filled the tables on the first floor of the Union on Wednesday afternoon as students searched for possible homes to live in next fall.
MSU
MSU campus prepares for move-in rush
With the lazy days of summer coming to a close, campus is starting to get busier as the university prepares for the return of students to the area. In the fall, MSU will boast the largest freshman class in the university’s history, expecting to introduce about 7,800 new students to the banks of the Red Cedar.
MICHIGAN
Students left without homes between leases
Jim Maclellan is homeless. Temporarily, at least. The 2011 alumnus, who is staying at MSU to pursue a master’s degree in the fall, can’t afford to give up his university laboratory job — he has to stay in East Lansing until classes begin.
MSU
Emmons Hall to reopen after extensive construction
As the university moves forward with a master plan for campus living accommodations, a newly revamped and renovated Emmons Hall will open up to students for the first time later this month.
MICHIGAN
Move-in days bring stress to E.L.
For theatre senior Erika Moul, moving into her new apartment has been a disaster. Moul is one of a number of students moving into apartments this week, a trend that will only pick up steam as the month continues. DTN Management Co. had its first move-in date on Monday, and many other apartment complexes are scheduled to open their doors in the coming weeks.
MICHIGAN
Apartment complex changes management without prior notice to residents
An East Lansing-based real estate company will be changing management hands for several of its properties for the upcoming school year.
MSU
Green space to replace aged apartments
Demolition of Cherry Lane Apartments and the Faculty Bricks complex will begin Tuesday as the university looks to replace the aging structures with green space.
MICHIGAN
Council authorizes building of downtown high-rises
The East Lansing city council authorized the construction of the first building in a high-rise development project that will carve a new shape in the city’s skyline.
NEWS
Students struggle to deal with full-year leases
Making living arrangements for the summer can be a frustrating and complicated process for students. With many apartment complexes offering only 12-month leases, students can be forced to scramble to find someone to take their lease during the summer or risk paying for an unused apartment.
Lauren Gibbons
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NEWS
A perfect match
For accounting sophomore Brian Perry, going in blind has had its ups and downs. Perry, a transfer student from Central Michigan University, said in his freshman year at CMU, he met some of his best friends after filling out a roommate matching survey and getting placed with three other freshmen.
MICHIGAN
E.L. residents can grade landlords on new website
After some difficult experiences with landlords in his college days, Michael Montesano is looking to make the process of finding a workable rental space easier for college students across the nation.
NEWS
Board votes to raise housing, dining costs
Students living on campus next year will face higher living cots after the MSU Board of Trustees voted to increase housing and dining rates by 4.95 percent next year. This August, the residence hall double room rate for undergraduate students will increase $160, and the silver unlimited meal plan will increase $224, bringing the standard double room and board plan to $8,154 — up from $7,770 this academic year. Rates for one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments in Spartan Village will remain unchanged, and the monthly rate for apartments in University Village will increase by $7 per person.
MSU
Information sessions to take place
A session that will provide information about gender-neutral housing will take place at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Room C3 in Wilson Hall.
MSU
Students consider benefits, drawbacks of living on, off campus
After freshman year, many students begin to consider moving off campus.
MICHIGAN
City code protects students from discrimination
As some MSU students look to sign leases on houses and apartments for next year, city officials want to make sure they are aware of what rights are protected.
NEWS
Mentor life rekindles love of university
I never thought my love affair with MSU would run its course and end with the drought of a degree. The only remains seemed to be the remembrance of the feeling that I did love MSU, but with the constant reminder that I’m wasn’t in love any longer. Nearly depleted of my MSU pride, I moved out of my apartment at the Landings at Chandler Crossings after my junior year.