Where Not to Shop in Stevens Point
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------------------------------------------------ ....n • THE POINTER Mor~h 9, 1978 Vol. ii No.26 Ground Control to ·Major Tom: Giving free rein to a chancellor's flights of fancy _ By George Leopold Long after we students leave this institution of higher learning and go on to make our mark on the "real world, " our beloved alma mater will continue to evolve and grow in innumerable ways. Just exactly how and when these changes take place is the concern of a group of UWSP faculty and staff who are members ;::r-. of the Campus Master Plan Committee; or, as the man in the red vest calls it, "the university dream committee." The be sure, the recently · formed committee is made up of some of the finest "dreamers" that Chancellor Lee Dreyfus could assemble. Yet, after talking with several committee members, it seems clear that the whole idea of formulating a "master plan" to chart future physical development of the university is really a task for all of us. Indeed, one member advised that at this point, the "dream" committee "desperately needs ideas" from students and faculty, no matter how "off the -f wall." One can be reasonably certain that this ~----~t) no-holds-barred approach was what the chancellor had in mind when he suggested ' that development of a master plan for the university of the 1990's· and beyond "might involve looking at some aspects of places like Disneyland." Continued on ·p. 12 Page z March 9, 1978 ~POIMER UIEWPOIDT Housing code revisions jeopardize security deposits as its sole supporter. The shortage of available leased housing landlords and license revocation for habitual violators. In September of 1977, SB 426 was referred in Stevens Point has not been substantially to the Assembly's Small Business affected by the recent revision of the Landlords generally agreed to a plan under which they would pay fines for tenant Committee, considered a budgetary item Building Maintenance and Occupancy under the Department of Agriculture's Code. Few tenants, if any, will loose their violations and deduct it ·from the roomer's Consumer Protection Unit. Governor homes January 1, 1979 when the city's new security deposit. Landlords will t~en be Schreiber accepted the budget proposal housing ordinance goes into effect. obligated to include these or_dmance Recent estimates .indicate that of the 800 sections in their leases. Consideration then with minimal changes. On Monday, March rooming houses in the city, one third are must be taken in assigning the proper code 13, the Small Business Committee will vote licensed. The city's Inspection violation to the appropriate tenant. on whether to accept the budget changes Administration, surveying almost half of The Student Legal Society which handles and send its decision to the Assembly fllor . the licensed housing, concluded that tenant-landlord disputes considers its · Jim Tobakos, spokesman for the United seventeen tenants will be displaced by the highest complaint area the withholding of Council, considered the approval of the new code. security deposits. The primary reason for Small Business Committee likely, but a Although the square foot allowance per withholding seems to be damages legislative aide to Senator James Flynn of tenant has been raised to 125 square feet, concurred during the tenants stay but some Milwaukee, ·the sponsor of the bill, the addition of bathrooms, basement landlords withhold security deposits if considers SB 426 virtually dead because, as laundries, furnace rooms, corridors, tenants fail to clean their quarters after she explained, "with only three weeks left stairways and closets as accountable floor they have vacated or if they violate in this session, there is not enough time lo space has lowered the figure to an actual provisions of their lease. see it through the Assembly.'' amount of fifteen square feet over the The Wisconsin State statutes governing original ordinance figure of 100 square feet. non-residential leased housing are Switftly at the heels of the fourth defeat of The estimated seventeen tenants displaced ambiguous and archaic with respect to the Landlord-Tenant Act comes the by the new ordinance becomes a real figure specific rights and responsibilities for compromise of the Stevens Point Inspection of ten. landlords and tenants. Chapter 704 of the Administration and the city's rooming Wisconsin ·statutes contains no provisions house owners to Jevel fines for code The general order for compliance to the governing security deposits. violations by tenants on their security new code will be issued in January 1979. The Senate Bill 426, defeated subsequently deposits. This solution to the associate ills of bulk of rooming houses considered affected since 1974, proposed to the 1977 session of the rooming house business places the by the change of the square foot rule will not the Legislature a substantive change in the burden of code infringements on security be subject to its compliance until June or landlord-tenant relationship by the creation deposits thereby taxing further the August of that year, when their owners of a detailed contractual basis between inadequate laws governing their return. apply for license renewals. tenant and landlord. It includes four major These slight code revisions are minimum Conveniently, landlords may not need to areas of clarification which are: standards, the Inspection Administration evict tenants but simply will rent their maintenance rights and responsibilities for indicates that it will impose stricter buildings to fewer tenants in the fall term. both tenant and landlord; rental standards if the problems surrounding The square foot allowance change is agreements; eviction, termination of rooming houses continue. essentially ineffectual as it now stands. tenancy procedures ; and the withholding of The irresponsibility of both the city's Tenants may thank their landlords for security deposits. landlords and their tenants has brought watering down the original 150 square foot Throughout the history of SB 426, its main about the change in the Stevens Point per tenant proposal of the city's overzealous opposition has come from the Metropolitan Building Premise Maintenance and Inspection Administrator. This original Builders Association and the Income Occupance Code. proposal would have affected virtually . Property Owners Association, both of As long as owning homes for rent remains every rooming house in the city by Milwaukee, who were able to generate a a highly lucrative enterprise, landlords and displacing more than thirty tenants. great number of letters and telephone calls tenants will continue to exploit housing. The significant changes in the city's to legislators in opposition of the bill. The New laws governing security deposits and housing code lie in the final two sections of United Council of Wisconsin Student city codes governing maintenance and the ordinance. These two items concern the Governments, which supported the 1m excessive noise will simply force landlords acceptance of the responsibility of tenant version of SB 426, was singled out by and tenants to curb their exploitation of violations of the code by rooming house members of the committee handling the bill living space. Poisoned pot perils populace The Drug Enforcement Agency's <DEA) cause. The government, in effect, is taking recent plan for spraying toxic herbicides on a harmless drug and turning it into a deadly Colombia's marijuana crops is a reckless killer. POINTER STAFF and costly move that will have Managing Editor.Gail Gatton ~e issue here is not the supplying of News EdJtor.Ron Thums ramifications with both South America's foreign governments with herbicides Environmental Editor-Barb Puschel economy and unsuspecting smokers who banned in the us (although over $200 f"ea lures Editor-Bob Ham happen to smoke the poisoned grass. million has already been spent since 1971 to Aul. Features EdU.or-Constance Villec Paraquat, the herbicide in question, was e~adicate a variety of vegetation in Sports Editor-Jay Schweikl the subject of a $30,000 National Institute on Vietnam and South America) , the real issue Photo Editor-Mark McQueen Drug Abuse study on the effects it has on here is the blatant irresponsibility of the Graphics Editor-Mark Larson marijuana smokers. A real danger lies in government in handling drug matters. Not Copy Editor-Robert Borski the fact that the herbicide has the P~Lry Editor & Business Manager-Karl Garson only is the United States going to contribute Asi. t. Businns Manager-Deb Ma tlerer marvelous ability to not kill the plants, but to a ra~h of poisonings among an Advertising Managers-Andrea Spudich & Dennis Peterson leaves a chemical film that can be toxic unsusPE:Ctmg populace, but it is also overtly OHice Manager-Dessrec Fox when smoked. tampermg with the already sagging In addition to paraquat, the Colombian economies of Colombia and Venezuela THE POINTER Is a 11ttond class pubUutlon issued under th r and Venezuelan governments are using The United St,ates must work harde~ than auth orit y granted to the Board of RegenlJ of the University of Tordan 101, a Vietnam tested defoliant, ever to alleviate the many inconsistencies it Wis consin. It is wri tten and edJted by th e s tud ents of th e sprayed on with several Bell helicopters Univenity ol WiscOfUl ln-Stevens Point and th ey ue solely ~s concerning drug enforcement. Both r~ ponsible for Its editorial policy: and equipment received from the US to Junmy . Car_ter _and Peter Bourne favor further eradicate crops. Peter Bourne, the decnmmahzat10n, yet action by Written permlH ion Is required for a reprint of all materia ls Carter appointed head of the DEA, has said government agencies like the DEA and the prennl~ In th e PO INTER.Address all correspondence lo in a recent press release that the United International Narcotics Control Program Hoom 11 3 Communication Building.