Midterms are on the horizon, the Badgers are halfway through their season, and the weather is still pleasant. The beginning of each semester, regardless of the excitement of seeing friends and watching our football team win, is often one of the most chaotic times for students. Just as it seems that we have every utensil imaginable stocked away in our kitchens, and the last of the Target furnishings assembled, the dreaded letter arrives in our mailboxes. The landlords want to know: will we be back next year?

Signing leases is a part of college I really dislike, and it happens earlier and earlier each school year. It seems that just when my roommates and I have figured out the nuances of living in a new building we are being hounded to sign a lease for next year.

The owners of the Aberdeen, one of the newer buildings on University Avenue, are requesting that current residents notify them by Oct. 17 if they want to sign a new lease and remain in their current apartment. After that date, though, the building will start hosting open houses to non-residents, which will result in new leases being signed, possibly including one that will secure your very apartment to someone else. In addition to this information, the management's letter is filled with compliments, reminding us what wonderful tenants we are and how much they enjoy having us. It's October, how well could they possibly know us?

Madison Property Management, Inc. sent out a campus-wide e-mail advertising its newest building, the Equinox. Also located on University Avenue, the building boasts amenities such as state-of-the-art appliances and a range of apartment sizes. Also listed under the amenities portion of the ad, however, is a statement that reads: "Leases already being signed."

MPM hopes that by notifying students that their apartments are already hot commodities they will hurry up and sign leases as early as next week, just days after the first open houses are held.

For those who are graduating or are certain they will be moving somewhere else next year, this system is not a problem. For everyone else, it is bothersome and stressful. More specifically, pressuring students into signing leases causes several problems.

First, and usually the top priority for many students, are the inevitable meetings with both your current and your future roommates to figure out where everyone wants to live and with whom they want to live. Think about the freshman currently living in the dorms who has yet to find a niche among his peers. Without a solid group of friends, students often feel as if they have no one to consider as a future roommate, and worry that the "best" apartments will already be taken by the time they do.

Second, buildings like the Equinox are not even completed yet. Although floor plans and models are available for prospective residents to inspect, this is not the same as being able to tour an actual apartment. What if something were to go wrong in the building process? What if, come August, the building is still not completed? These are risks that we as students should not be pressured into taking.

Third, students obeying these early lease requests often get roped into living with people who, by move-in time, are either not as close with each other or have different academic plans. Study abroad applications are often filled out late in the semester, meaning that some students are forced to scramble to find someone to sublet their apartment. This could all be avoided if leases were signed later and these students could find a building that could accommodate their travel plans ahead of time.

Some students may argue that it is possible to avoid signing a lease until second semester. Although this is true, and I have had many friends who do it, many students who wish to find buildings that can accommodate a large number of roommates or even several apartments near one another must act early. Those who have their hearts set on living on one side of campus also must start apartment hunting sooner rather than later, as apartments on Langdon Street and University Avenue are among the first to be leased.

It is not my intention to blame any particular landlord for the premature lease signing that occurs on our campus. I do believe, though, that if the buildings and landlords could unanimously agree to wait until either late first semester (for those going abroad), or early next year to begin signing leases, the entire system could be changed for the better. Meanwhile, is it time to start packing?

Emily Friedman ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in journalism and legal studies.