Hall rents to increase next fall

By Joseph M. Molina
Arizona Daily Wildcat
December 3, 1996

UA students who want to live in residence halls are likely to face a 3.5 percent increase in their housing rates next fall, Residence Life officials have said.

The increase was recommended by the Department of Residence Life and is now under review by a Residence Hall Association committee, said Mark Stanley, Residence Life business manager.

Stanley said inflation is a cause for a rate increase. Other factors include staff pay increases, an increased minimum wage and a classification maintenance review.

The classification review is a process all University of Arizona departments must go through to see if any are underfunded, Stanley said.

Chris Christensen, RHA president, said the proposed increase is one of the lowest he has seen in his five years at the UA.

"Students should be happy because they are getting a break from the usually higher rate increases," Christensen said.

There are two plans that will be reviewed at Thursday's RHA meeting, Christensen said. The first is an $84 increase to each hall's rates, while the second is a 3.5 percent increase to the rent, which is different for each hall.

Under the proposed dollar-based rate increase, rent at Maricopa Residence Hall, for example, would go from $2,454 to $2,538. If the percent increase is instituted, that hall's cost would rise from $2,454 to $2,555.

Results from Thursday's meeting will go to Residence Life and then the Arizona Board of Regents for approval.

"We are one of the few schools that students have a voice in bureaucratic issues," Christensen said.

Christensen said students are accepting the rate increase. Not all students are happy, however.

Catherine Martin, business and public administration freshman who lives in Maricopa Hall, said although her parents are paying for her education, she still does not believe the increases are necessary.

Jennifer Dannemiller, pre-education freshman who lives in Maricopa Hall, said Maricopa is already one of the most expensive halls on campus. "It makes me mad," she said.

Colin Price, environmental science freshman, said he is on a private scholarship but has had several problems with his residence hall billing.

"It's getting so expensive," he said.

RHA's Thursday meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Old Chemistry, Room 134.


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