Tuesday, March 24, 2009 Volume 135, Issue 21
The University of Delaware’s Independent Newspaper Since 1882
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Residents, management in disputes at Studio Green BY SAMANTHA BRIX Staff Reporter
Rent prices will increase for Studio Green apartments, despite longstanding complaints of cockroaches and bedbugs. A new owner took over the complex last July and launched an advertising campaign to refresh the image of the apartments previously known as Towne Court and Park Place. Neon green signs sprang up on Main Street, Facebook and the university bookstore, promoting valuable, stylish and environmentally responsible living. Campus Living Villages, a company based out of Australia, owns housing facilities near 47 university campuses in the United
States, Australia and New Zealand, according to its Web site. Studio Green is one of its facilities and is approximately 58 percent occupied. Tony Rivera, a doctoral student, is a resident and former employee of Studio Green. He said the current monthly rent of his twobedroom, 926-square foot apartment with a balcony, living room, dining room, kitchen, study and bathroom is $950. According to the Studio Green Web site, featuring new rates and floor plans with names like “Ener-Green” and “Sun-Ray,” the rate for the same size apartment will cost $1,280, nearly a 34 percent increase, effective July 1. Rivera said he currently pays a total of
$102 for his electricity and water. Jim Short, president of the United States Division of CLV, said the new price will include water-sewer, gas, electricity, highspeed Internet and cable television, all of which are not currently included in rent cost. According to the CLV Web site, the facilities at the Newark complex include a pool, fitness center, free on-site tanning, a laundry facility, free parking and common areas for outdoor sports. The pest problems long associated with the former apartment complex were unknown to Short prior to purchasing the property. “When we bought the apartment we had no idea there was a pest problem,” Short said.
“The magnitude of the problem we learned of after we acquired it was astounding.” Four residents, who declined to give their names for fear of retribution from management, said their apartments currently have cockroaches or have had them at some point since last summer. Rivera said his apartment has been infested with cockroaches 17 out of the 18 months he has lived in it. Rivera worked in the Studio Green office as a resident assistant since last summer. In one instance, he said tenants could not move into their apartment on time because cock-
BY JOSH SHANNON
ed that claim. FIRE sent a letter criticizing the Residence Life program to university President Patrick Harker, who eventually suspended the program. In May 2008, the Faculty Senate approved a tamer, voluntary program. The film, titled “Orientation or Indoctrination,” was produced by Liz Rose,
Video criticizes former Residence Life program Managing News Editor
THE REVIEW/Steven Gold
The hosts of ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption” spoke at the Bob Friday night.
The Sports Interview: Michael Wilbon, Tony Kornheiser BY SEIF HUSSAIN AND GREG ARENT Managing Sports Editor & Copy Editor
There was more than a bit of trepidation on the part of Greg and myself as we prepared to interview Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser of The Washington Post and ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption” fame. We were ourselves budding collegiate sports journalists, getting ready to interview two of the most influential sports journalists of our time. It was a bit of anxious enthusiasm, if not quite nervousness, as we approached the room where we would meet the dynamic duo we had both watched on TV near-daily on ESPN since “PTI’s” inception. They were at Delaware to put on a SCPAB hosted, “PTI”-style show, for an audience at The Bob Carpenter Center on
inside
2 News
14 Editorial
Friday night. Expecting much more pomp than was actually on hand, we entered The Bob’s locker room, only to find Kornheiser and Wilbon oblivious to our presence and arguing playfully over a fallen banner, which may or may not have been the fault of our subjects. They quickly composed themselves, and very graciously made introductions, displaying the same type of synergy and jubilance in person their viewers are so used to. It was surely a highlight of our comparatively brief journalistic careers to be able to speak directly with men who were hopefully a projection of our future selves, if we were to continue down our path of sports writing. See REVIEW page 28
15 Opinion
17 Mosaic
See COMPLAINTS page 3
An advocacy group released a video on Thursday that criticizes the university’s former Residence Life program and calls on other universities to investigate their own programs. The 15-minute film was distributed by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni to more than 3,000 trustees of universities nationwide as an example of what universities should not do. It is also posted on YouTube. The film features education professors Jan Blits and Linda Gottfredson, as well as three students, discussing their experiences with the program, which drew national attention in 2007 amid complaints that the diversity training program went too far. “We discovered we were merely the leading edge for this type of programming around the nation, so I thought it important to get the warning out to other institutions, and this was a good way to do that,” Gottfredson said Friday. Controversy over the Residence Life program began in October 2007 when students, parents and faculty members upset with the program contacted the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a Philadelphia-based organization that speaks out on behalf of college students who feel their rights have been violated. Both Blits and Gottfredson spoke out against the program at that time. Many students said last year that those living in residence halls were subjected to group discussions about diversity and one-on-one questioning about their feelings on race, sexual identity and other sensitive subjects. Some students said they were led to believe the sessions were mandatory, although the university disput-
20 CD Reviews
See GROUP page 4
Courtesy of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni
Bill Rivers and Kelsey Lanan discuss their experiences with Residence Life in a video.
27 Classifieds
31 Game of the Week