Opinion

Tending to tenants

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Related stories:

• Best case for 'Worst House' (April 18, 2002)
• Letters to the Editor -- 2-13-02 (February 13, 2002)
• An agenda for tenants' rights (February 14, 2003)
• Letters to the Editor -- 3/13/02 (March 13, 2002)
• Balcony Behavior (September 8, 2004)

Also by Badger Herald Editorial Board:

• The Invisible Man Award: Wyndham Manning (May 7, 2009)
• The People's Choice Award: Jacqueline Hitchon et. al (May 7, 2009)
• The Lifetime Achievement Award: ASM (May 7, 2009)
• Honest representation (May 5, 2009)
• Junger for ASM Chair (May 5, 2009)

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A regular theme in our editorials has been the prospect of effective student government accomplishing concrete objectives that benefit the average student. ASM’s Tenants’ Rights Campaign is just what we are looking for.

Without a doubt, the annual “Worst House in Madison” contest is the highlight of the campaign. The offbeat competition is a creative and effective way to draw attention to the need for better off-campus housing and greater landlord accountability. In the past the contest has been very successful, both in securing better living conditions for the contest’s winners and in generating relatively impressive amounts of student interest and involvement. We encourage students to send in their own horror stories (see “Your Voice” at left).

But students happy with their living situations should chime in as well. ASM’s attempt to create a landlord database similar to professor and class evaluations is a great idea and could be a big benefit to future students.

What ASM should not do is present these submissions as an accurate indicator of the status of tenants’ rights in downtown Madison. Since the survey is completely voluntary, the reality is that only a particular type of renter — the disgruntled one — will be motivated to fill it out, resulting in statistics not truly representative of student living conditions.

If ASM is really interested in collecting representative and conclusive information, it should conduct a more scientific survey. Admittedly, such a survey would be expensive, and we are not eager to see ASM use more of our money for the dubious benefits such a survey would provide.

However, the results would certainly be more useful than the ineffective, out-of-touch and out-of-the-way Tenant Resource Center. ASM would have plenty of money for its survey, as well as for the rest of its Tenants’ Rights Campaign, if it redirected the $60,000 a year the TRC currently receives to its campaign (we’re too optimistic to think ASM would actually give it back to students).

For now, ASM should ask the university to include questions related to tenants’ rights on UW’s annual student satisfaction survey.

Tenants’ rights is an issue that affects the vast majority of UW students, and we are pleased to see ASM addressing those concerns. Now if they could just pay as much attention to students’ wallets.