TO THE EDITOR:
The swiftly vanishing prospect of affordable housing will affect many in the Chapel Hill community, including students and employees of the University. Of the 30,000 students at UNC, 17,500 live off campus. 56 percent of all the housing in Chapel Hill is rentals.
Despite these numbers, there is still a dearth of safe and decent housing for those who cannot afford luxury apartments. As recently as spring semester, nearly 1,200 residents were displaced when an apartment complex was leveled, and another is set to be demolished this summer not far from campus in order to build apartments for higher-income renters.
What these trends mean for those in the Chapel Hill community is that many working families will not be able to afford decent housing while the rents for students will continue to go up. One of the many examples of abuses that occur on a regular basis are coercive lease-signings where tenants are intimidated into signing early lease renewals and are then subjected to exorbitant rent hikes.
This is a problem for everyone: for your friend thinking of moving off campus next year and for the people who prepare your food in the dining halls.
Nicole Bauer
Graduate student
History
