Thursday, September 25, 2014
The Pony Express
Club Sports Fall Short Students lack opportunity to expand program
Meals on wheels coming to campus
Opinion, Page 6
Scene, Page 4
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Housing Law Faces Student Opposition
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Bronze Bronco Brought to Campus
Off-campus residents may see limitations if city ordinance passes Mallory Miller
The Santa Clara Students, landlords and residents voiced their opinions on a controversial proposal that would limit how many tenants can live in certain singlefamily homes at a Santa Clara City Council committee meeting on Monday. The Neighborhood Protection Ordinance Committee presented their most recent draft of a housing ordinance affecting homeowners in the residential zone of the greater city of Santa Clara. The updated version, released at the committee’s fifth and final meeting, would require local property owners to apply for boarding house permits in order to lease homes to five or more adults who pay rent separately. This would affect fraternities, sororities and others currently living in homes meant for single families. The ordinance was created to address excessive partying near the university, the high concentration of individuals living in single-family homes and the lack of street parking. Monday’s meeting pushed the ordinance forward to the Planning Commission, the last group slated to review the ordinance before it is presented to the City Council for a vote. “The meeting went poorly for us and our campaign to save student tenant rights and property owner rights,” said junior Chuck Hattemer in an email. Hattemer is the co-founder of One Rent, an online platform that will allow students to submit deposits and pay rent to their landlords online. He said there was a lack of students voicing opposition to the ordinance at Monday’s meeting. Three Santa Clara students spoke about the ordinance during the meeting’s public comment period which lasted approximately two hours. According to Hattemer, if the ordinance passes, many landlords will choose not to rent a single home to more than four students because of the “unruly gatherings” clause. The clause in the ordinance states that landlords risk getting their boarding house permits permanently revoked if tenants repeatedly host “unruly gatherings” of 10 or more people. Without the permits, students will be displaced from homes, Hattemer said. However, at the Monday meeting, City Attorney Richard Nosky, a member of the Neighborhood Protection Ordinance Committee, said, “It’s not our intent to cite property owners for each and every party that occurs.” Since the release of the original draft in July, See LEASING, Page 3
malu veltze — The Santa Clara
Santa Clara’s lovable, furry Bronco is all grown up. Bucky the Bronco, in his new bronzed form, poses majestically at Graham Hall. The intimidatingly muscular horse statue, created by David Spellerberg, was installed last Thursday, just in time to greet students during their first week of the fall term.
Cowell to Charge for Services
Patients now required to pay for certain health care expenses Nicolas Sonnenburg The Santa Clara
Amid pressures from an increasing student body and a higher demand for both medical and psychological services, Cowell Health Center, Santa Clara’s campus health clinic, is implementing a new system of fees. After years of charging students only for the cost of medication and medical supplies, these new fees range from a $10 charge to see a nurse to a $100 cost to see the resident psychiatrist. An email sent to the entire student body earlier this month stated that the changes were implemented to help Cowell provide improved services for the university.
Starting With a Splash Men’s Water Polo Opens 2-2 Sports, Page 7
“Over the past years, we’ve seen both an increase in the number of students coming to the Cowell Center and an increase in the severity of these cases,” said Dr. Jillandra Rovaris, director of the Cowell Center. To meet these needs, Cowell has been approved to hire a new psychologist and case manager. Along with additional staff Cowell hopes to soon hire, they will help to decrease the amount of time students will have to wait between making an appointment and actually seeing a medical or psychological professional. Some Santa Clara students, like graduate student Kristin Tappan, have some anxieties about these changes. “While (these) charges are far less than what students would be paying if they went somewhere else to see a psychologist or psychiatrist, I don’t think that that is necessarily relevant,” Tappan said. “There are students who can barely afford to purchase their books for school.” Tappan is also concerned that these medical charges could result in a breach of
student privacy. “A student could be going into Cowell to report a rape or talk about stress from familial issues,” Tappan said. “Even though charges to eCampus will only say ‘Cowell Center,’ students are going to have to answer to a guardian paying for their education what these charges are for. It puts a student who wanted to keep that information private in a really uncomfortable position.” Rovaris stressed, however, that student privacy is a priority for the Cowell Center. “We will never disclose private medical information to guardians,” she said. “All that parents will see are the words ‘Cowell Center’ on an eCampus bill if the student chooses not to pay at the time of visit.” “No student will ever be turned away for financial reasons,” Rovaris said. Those who qualify for Federal Pell Grants can apply for a Cowell Center Visit Fee waiver, she added. Contact Nicolas Sonnenburg at nsonnenburg@scu.edu or call (408) 5544852. What’s Inside
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