Students in the market for off-campus housing will soon have a new resource for comparing and evaluating different apartments and houses.
The ASG External Relations Committee has released a survey for students to rate their current off-campus locations. Responses will be collected and compiled for student access onto the off-campus housing website, providing a review system similar to that used for academic courses in CTECs.
According to External Relations Vice President Ethan Merel, the goal is to have the website launched with content by the beginning of winter quarter 2012.
“We wanted to find the most effective way of getting information from students,” the Weinberg sophomore said. “This provides a way for students to communicate with each other, so they can avoid some of the problems and issues that sometimes arise when looking off-campus.”
After providing basic personal information and the address of the apartment, the survey asks students to give feedback on various aspects of the dwelling, such as price, utilities and laundry. Tenants are also encouraged to rate their landlords and dwellings overall on a scale of one to ten, with comments.
The idea for such a Web resource has been floating around for several years and was even launched at one point, Merel said, though previous ASG administrations failed to follow through with maintenance and updates. Over the past year, his committee has been working to revitalize the premise and turn it into something useful for the student body.
“The issue of housing standards always has been part of a wider campus dialogue,” Merel said regarding the survey, which comes in the wake of last quarter’s “brothel law” controversy. “Students are concerned with whether or not they’re being manipulated. This is designed to help solve those problems.”