Move-out date stirs apartment trouble

Renee Crug is preparing for finals. Like the people around her,
this third-year English student is busy filling her eighth week
with the normal tasks associated with end-of-quarter academics. She
is also thinking about moving out of her apartment.

As a resident of Westwood Chateau, one of the eight buildings
that comprise University Apartments North, Crug must be entirely
moved out by 10 p.m. on June 18 ““ Friday of finals week.

Unlike the dorms, where space is limited and students forced to
move out during breaks tend to take belongings home with them,
residents in the University Apartments North feel the amount they
have to move justifies a move-out date later than the dorms.

Jarrod Martin, a third-year history student, said moving out of
the apartments is not the same as moving out of the dorms and
should not be treated as such. He pointed to items such as cooking
utensils and multiple rooms’ worth of decorations as reasons
why apartment residents should receive a significantly increased
amount of time to pack before leaving, as opposed to dorm
residents.

Other students share Martin’s sentiments.

“This is an apartment, and they advertise it as an
apartment and not a dorm. If that is the case, then we should get
treated as apartments,” said Chris Mason, a third-year
economics student.

Kathie Goalwin, University Apartments North area manager,
pointed out that students have known about the move-out date since
they moved in, and were given the option to apply for summer
housing.

“Students were offered and reoffered the opportunity to be
in the lottery for summer housing,” Goalwin stated, saying
that the apartment was willing to accommodate its student
population.

But many students are not in need of housing for the summer;
they simply wish to have a few extra days between their finals and
their move-out date to get their belongings together.

For students who will not be taking their entire
apartment’s worth of goods with them for the summer, the
speedy move-out will involve additional work.

A native of northern California, Crug knows the impracticality
of hauling all of her belongings home for a mere three months, so
she plans to rent a storage unit.

Despite the move-out date being similar to those of past years,
current residents are worried. Martin said the quick move-out date
is “harsh.”

“It’s difficult to deal with packing up our stuff
while … having to juggle end-of-the-quarter assignments,”
he said.

Some of the unhappiness students expressed with the process
stems less from inconvenience than from not understanding the
apartment’s reasoning.

Though Goalwin said University Apartments North worked to keep
students informed about move-out procedures, Martin wondered why
students needed to leave so quickly.

“How much money would it cost the university to let us
stay here until Sunday?” he asked. “Would it be that
hard?”

Mason said it would likely cause little trouble for the school
to postpone move-out for a few days.

“I don’t know what their motivation is for kicking
us out, but it seems excessive,” he said.

Goalwin said the Friday deadline is necessary in order to have
the apartments ready to turn over for summer activities.

Some students are sympathetic to the possibility of the
apartment needing the units vacated for maintenance purposes.

Crug, for example, cited the possibility of repairs and painting
as reasons for the perceived rush to get students out.

But, Crug also pointed out that her roommate will be staying in
the same apartment all summer, despite repairs.

Goalwin stressed the point that her office is willing to work
with students who have special needs. Students with graduation and
travel-related circumstances can choose to extend their stay for
$50 for the first day and $100 for the second.

Aside from those pre-designated exceptions, decisions will be
made on a case-by-case basis, Goalwin said.

To help inform students of the move-out situation, University
Apartments North has distributed literature and held extended
office hours to address questions.