Feeling Overwhelmed and at a Loss
These are unprecedented times. People are dying, losing their jobs, and millions of Americans have been cooped up at home for over two months.
For college students, it’s been a rough ride. Between transitioning to online learning and new circumstances, it can be hard to imagine dealing with more stress, but there’s one more dilemma. Every month that passes by is another rent payment due.
Many students in Reno have been forced to make changes that have affected their lives. Some have lost their jobs, making it difficult or almost impossible to pay rent. Some who are financially dependent on their parents are no longer able to because they have lost their jobs as well.
People have also left the city to go to their hometowns. We are unable to use the gyms, pools, the recreation rooms or any other amenities offered at our places of residence.
But the student apartments are still making us pay the full rent. Combine that with no option to break the lease, the long, tedious process of finding someone to sublet or replace you, and general inexperience of young adults in these matters, it is easy to become overwhelmed.
Amenities have been reduced at many student apartments, but not rent. Photo by Tucker Rash.
Little to No Assistance
The apartment complex I lived in this year has offered little to no assistance. Looking for someone to take over your lease is nearly impossible because there are not many takers right now.
One of my roommates found a person to replace them, and could not get a response from the front office for almost a week if that was ok.
Some students are going to be stuck paying their full rent until their lease is up. And that is not ok.
Eventually the question has to be asked, what side of history would you like to be on? The side that made a difference and gave assistance to struggling students, or the side that continued to make people’s lives harder?