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By Julie Akins for the Mail Tribune February 02. 2016 3:57PM Students want ban on banning students A group of Southern Oregon University students plans to ask Ashland City Council to consider students a protected class when it comes to housing. The group, Associated Students of Southern Oregon University, contends rental ads that say “no students" are discriminatory and punishing in an already difficult housing market. The students huddled in groups around Stevenson Union last Wednesday to practice speaking as if they were making a presentation to the council, which they hope leads to allowing them more housing options. "Many students struggle to find off-campus housing in Ashland," the argument went. "It is common to see housing ads that say 'no students' or for property managers to take an application fee, only to deny an applicant just because they are a student. That is unfair to responsible students who would make good renters.” A lack of affordable housing adversely affects many in Ashland. It’s largely due to a very low vacancy rate of about 1 percent, according to the Southern Oregon Rental Owners Association. To put that number into perspective, of the possible 6,000 units available, only about 60 are available to rent at any given time, regardless of price. Compare that to New York City with its famed tight rental market, which has a 3.5 percent vacancy rate. For students who face an additional hurdle, it’s tougher yet. They describe renting spaces in driveways so they can sleep in their van at a cost of $200 per month, or a spot on a couch at that same rate. It’s not unusual to have five or six students living in two- or three-bedroom houses. A student who didn’t want to be named admitted to sometimes renting out his couch or garage without telling his landlord. “It happens all the time," he said. "I’ve seen people running electrical cords out the window to campers and charging rent. Sometimes it’s the only place people have to go.” Associated Students of SOU plans to ask City Council to pass an ordinance to stop the practice of refusing to rent to students. They claim other communities have had success with this strategy, and they want that same policy in Ashland. “Landlords should be able to make rules about behavior," they said, "but they shouldn’t be allowed to reject applicants or charge higher fees based on stereotypes.” Other university towns, such as Madison, Wisc., make it illegal to refuse to rent to students, who are listed as a specific class. Many other states do not allow age to play a factor in determining renters, which also helps students. Oregon state law does not have either of those provisions. The SOU student group wants Ashland to adopt laws similar to Madison's. They are asking students to come forward who have stories of being wrongfully discriminated against to show City Council how it negatively affects students and the community. Several students and the leadership of the associated students plan to make a presentation during public comment at the Feb. 16 Ashland City Council meeting. Ashland freelance writer Julie Akins is a journalism instructor at SOU. Email her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/@julieakins. http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20160202/NEWS/160209924 © 2016 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->