Respect and compromise keys to easing tension between students, long-term community residents

QUESTION:

I am a student at Carleton University. I live off-campus in the Glebe, between the university and downtown. I find it distressing that there has been so much media coverage of the opposition from homeowners to students renting near them. Do they not realize students have to live somewhere? On-campus housing is expensive and in short supply. Besides that, I want to live in a real community with a corner store, a grocery store and restaurants within walking distance. Why can’t the middle-aged homeowners just chill, and let everyone find a good place to live?

ANSWER:

It is indeed unfortunate that there has been so much conflict around students renting near the post-secondary campuses and transportation nodes like South Keys.

The problems seem to be caused largely by the few “bad apples” among the student renters who do not respect their neighbours. First-time renters have not lived on their own before and may not realize the responsibilities of being a good neighbour, such as putting out their garbage at the right time and keeping the noise down all the time.

Many of us can remember the sense of freedom we experienced when we first moved out from our parents’ homes. Many of us can remember inconsiderate things we did as 18- and 19-year-olds.

Decades ago, post-secondary students who moved away from home usually moved to a university residence. In Ontario that was at age 19. Now with the abolition of Grade 13, the move to university or community college often takes place at age 18. To compound the issue, universities and colleges have many more students, but hardly any more residence spaces. The two factors push very young adults out into the rental community, often in low-rise rentals in established neighbourhoods.

As you say, students have to live somewhere. Absent funding for residences, that needs to be in the community. It makes a great deal of sense for most students to rent near their schools. That way they can walk to and from school. Students should have the choice to live near campus, in established communities.

Rather than treating students as second-class citizens by preventing property owners from renting to them, the better solution is to treat students as responsible adults. Responsible adults comply with the city bylaws about noise and garbage and other behaviour.

If adults don’t comply with a bylaw, Bylaw Services can issue a ticket and fine the offender. Repeated offences can lead to higher fines. That way the few bad apples will learn to behave, and the law-abiding majority can still enjoy living accommodations which are convenient to them and more affordable than on-campus housing.

Plenty of noise and other violations are caused by residents other than students. In September, the Ottawa Police Service undertook an enforcement blitz in the area they call Central-East, which is bounded by the Ottawa River, the Aviation Parkway, Hwy. 417 and Nicholas Street and the Rideau Canal. During the blitz the police issued 1027 Provincial Offence Notices. Only 228 of them were issued in Sandy Hill around the University of Ottawa. A full 75 per cent of the infractions were not in the student area.

Another solution is a Code of Conduct under which bylaw offences or criminal behaviour off- campus would lead to academic penalties such as suspension or expulsion. Such behaviour on-campus leads to those sanctions now. Such sanctions would probably result in better behaviour by the bad apples, who are now giving all post-secondary students a bad reputation. Many responsible students would welcome such a Code of Conduct and the improvement in student-community relations which would likely result.