Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Inside This Issue: August 2; 2000 Today’s Weather W&Wmmk ^ Pa^e fi o • 1'rr / n • with highs in the the 80s rWat O serving the Carolina Community since 1 Q08 vol. 93, No. 96 University of South Carolina www.gamecock.sc.edu 1 ‘ ‘ - -1 Housing contracts present problems Sean Rayford Photo Editor Preston Dorm, on Greene Street, is one of several student housing facilities on campus that students might find hard to leave because of potentially large penalties for breaking a housing contract Students living in dorms without waiting lists are the only on-campus residents affected by the new housing con tracts. by Jennifer Carter Staff Writer Some students who sign contracts with the University's department of hous ing to live on campus later change their minds and decide they prefer an off- campus apartment or house. They quickly realize, however, that it is not easy to break their contract with the Department of Housing. In fact, in some cases, students are paying steep penalties of more than $1,000 for changing their minds about living in a dorm. Students say the language in the con tract is not clear; therefore, they don’t realize how much money they will have to pay if they change their mind. iuv uo^iuwuvm jmmi J jmuvuw do not read the contract carefully and that if they did they would find it to be clear. Confusion arises because the hous ing contract states that students who wish to be released from their contracts must pay a relatively small fee: $100 before July 1 and $200 after July 1, if there are students waiting to receive on-campus housing. However, if there is not a demand for housing, the student is required to pay half the amount they agreed to pay in the contract. In other words, they must pay for one semester of housing. Gretchen Koehler of the Depart meni of Housing says that by doing this, the University is splitting the cost of the room with the student. She also explained that it is necessary for housing to chaige such a fee because they are a not-for profit oiganization. Therefore, if they release a student from his housing contract and do not have another student to take his place, they are losing money. “We do not have the money to re lease a student from a housing contract and chaige only $100 if there is no wait ing list for housing,” Koehler said. “ Do ing this would cause us to lose money, which would affect the quality of ser vices we are able to provide to stu dents who do fulfill their contracts and five on campus.” „ui_i „ j .l„* _i 1VVA/UIV/1 V/ApiUlllVU EUUl, iUOlUi IWCU ly, there has been a waiting list for on campus housing, but that is not the case this year. That's because the new East Quad dorm will open this fall, providing space for 440 more students to live on cam pus. This is approximately how many stu dents each year decide they want to be released from their housing contracts, and there are usually enough students waiting to take their places in the dorms. With the new East Quad dorm, all students who originally signed up-for —i Housing see page 3 Columbia begins downtown improvements by Kristin von Karowsky Staff Writer Motorists driving along Assembly Street in the coming months will be see ing some changes. The medians along Assembly Street, from Laurel Street to Elmwood Avenue, as well as the adjoining median on Elm wood, are being reconstructed. A wrought-iron fence will be erect ed and will run the length of the medi ans, and flowers, including more than 6,000 daffodils, will be added, as well. The medians were initially planted seven years ago. Work on the remodeling project began in mid-July and is expected to be completed by mid-October of this year. During the course of the recon struction, one lane of traffic might oc casionally be closed between of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. The groups involved in the renova tion efforts are the City of Columbia Forestry and Beautification Division and a local non-profit organization, Colum bia Green. The plan for the fence was approved by the South Carolina Department of Transportation in the spring. Debbie Price, superintendent of the City of Columbia Forestry and Beautifi cation Foundation, said that the purpos es of the remodeling are beautification and preventing pedestrian traffic across medians. “The old plants in the medians are not doing well because of foot traffic . They're getting trampled,” Price said. “The fencing is being added to protect the plant material and will also serve as a safety precaution for pedestrians.” Price said it's safer for pedestrians to avoid crossing the street from the me dians because they could step out into traffic from behind a tree and not be seen by passing motorists. The City of Columbia will pay the cost of the fencing, and Columbia Green has received a grant to purchase all new plant material. The overall cost of the project is $65,000. The City of Columbia is spending $40,000 for the fence, and Columbia Green is spending $25,000 for the new plant material, Price said. Once the fence is complete, new or namental grasses, perennials, bulbs and eveigreen groundcovers will be planted to furnish year-long interest and color. In addition to the numerous daffodils they will include Purple Coneflowers, flowers to be planted include perennial hibiscus, black-eyed susans, caryopteris, maiden grass and Mexican sage. Crape myrtles will also be incorporated into the new plan. “The additional flowers will be eye catching and more attractive,” Price said. “A woman called my office once and told me how she was driving to work one day and how much she appre ciated seeing flowers and color. She told me it really brightened up her day,” Price said.