Ever wonder why you get so many emails sent to your Wiscmail, or why no matter how many “unsubscribe” buttons you hit, they just seem to keep coming?

I did as well. It turns out it’s because our university sells our student emails to other third-parties — most notably real-estate groups.

I understand the university needs to raise funds, and advertising has become a pivotal method in doing so. But this specific practice is not only inconvenient to students, but also potentially damaging as well.  

The student life at University of Wisconsin is stressful enough to begin with. As students worry about classes, extracurriculars and socializing, the question of where and who to live with next year becomes an unwelcome, yet important daily distraction.  

The university allowing large real estate groups to send emails containing messages such as “Apartments are being gobbled up” and “Floor Plans Selling Out Fast for 2016-17” only compounds this housing-related stress.

Anders Zanichkowsky, UW Campus Coordinators from the Tenant Resource Center, elaborated on this when I asked for his thoughts on these email practices.

“I don’t know if it [the university’s ad policy] is in students’ best interest,” Zanichkowsky said. “Starting very early, [the real estate companies] pressure students to sign a lease the following year. We just want them to make an informed decision, and when they get these flash-sale type ads it skews their perception.”  

Zanichkowsky touches on important points. First, these ads victimize uninformed recipients — most likely first-year students — into rushing into a lease. These rushed decisions could lead students to signing with people they probably don’t know well, and in places they probably aren’t familiar with. 

Another important takeaway from Zanichkowsky is that he says the university discourages students from signing leases before winter break. This is ironic because Campus Area housing works with the Tenant Resource Center and posts on their website to inform people that there is no need to sign in November, all while the university makes it possible for third-parties to send out emails to students pushing the opposite.  

The university’s own monetary interests clearly do not align with the message they present — as shown from their continuation to sell Wiscmail addresses to hawkish real estate groups.

It is important to note that the university does offer a way for students to opt-out of receiving these ads. One can do this by scrolling down to the “Personal Information” section of the Student Center, clicking on the scroll-down bar, and going to the section called “restrict third-party mail.”  

But this method would not catch the eye of the casual observer and is definitely not a something that the university makes clear.

Moving forward, the university should better align its monetary interests with the interests of students, or at least make the opt-out option more publicly known. Until then a word of advice to those stressed about living situations for next year: unsubscribe from those pesky emails, and take a deep breath. You are going to find a situation that will help show you why the Wisconsin experience is one of the best out there.

Henry Solotaroff-Webber ([email protected]) is sophomore majoring in English and Spanish.