By
Ryan Gabrielson
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Grad student will move into a wash, administration lawn after Friday's closing of family hosing units
All the residents of Christopher City Apartments have to vacate their units before Friday.
Only about 20 families remain in the complex that University of Arizona officials have deemed a serious health risk due to toxic mold that was found in several apartments.
But Jake Elkins said that he has no intention of going anywhere.
"I don't have anything to lose, I don't have a job to lose so I can speak up," said Elkins, an urban planning graduate student.
While others have at least begun to move their belongings out of the units, Elkins has yet to move anything.
He has rented a storage locker for his furniture and books and is prepared to move into the Columbus Wash, just south west of Christopher City, for a week.
There, Elkins said, he will live in a tent to protest the UA's treatment of the former Christopher City residents. But his demonstration will not be limited to the wash.
"I'm gonna stay on the administration lawn," Elkins said concerning where he's going to move once he leaves the wash.
Elkins also hosted an open house Saturday to "let the community know that at least my apartment is not roach ridden, roof leaking, moldy and falling down as the university administration alleges," he stated in a letter to those who came to the open house.
On two floppy disks, Elkins has his entire dissertation, which is all that he has left to finish at the UA before earning his doctorate degree.
He had intended to finish it this month, but said that the university's decision to close Christopher City changed his plans.
"I didn't have time to work on it this summer," he said.
Once Christopher City is torn down, the UA will, temporarily, not provide graduate family housing until it completes plans to build a graduate family village.
Though university officials have repeatedly said they are actively working to fill the void that will be left once Christopher City is closed, Elkins said that he doesn't trust them.
"They say they may replace it, but that's not firm," he said. "They lie a lot."
Martha McGrath, Christopher City resident and UA law student, said that she also doesn't believe that the university will follow through with its plan to build another graduate family village.
"I think they're liars and thieves," McGrath said. "I just want out, but I have no money."
Rent subsidies and moving allowances were given to each family - costing the UA about $1 million - including Elkins.
"They offered, I took and I sent it back," he said. "For $3 million we could remodel this whole place, but they're going to trash it all."
Though several residents have expressed concerns that they will be forcefully removed, Sharon Kha, UA spokeswoman, said the university doesn't intend to take that kind of action.
"We believe we can find housing for every resident," Kha said. "I don't anticipate any forceful removal of students."
McGrath said she is going to try to place a restraining order against the Arizona Board of Regents to prevent the UA from removing the residents.
"It's gonna be a stand off," McGrath said.
