Feb. 17, 2016

INSIDE

Rockets thaw bats in opener

The team opened their spring season with a 5-4 win over UMass.

SPORTS / 5 »

Gamers roll the diceBASHCon celebrates 31 years

with guest D.C. Douglas.

COMMUNITY / 6 »

““As student admission increases, along with last semester’s increase in student retention, we are happy to see this growth and hope the trend continues.”

EDITORIALAn increase in enrollment

will benefit studentsOPINION / 3 »

PHOTO COURTESY OF ZEINAB CHEAIBUniversity of Toledo students were evacuated from Rocket Hall Feb. 15 at 12 p.m. when a pipe burst and the building became waterlogged. Manager of Structural Maintenance Christopher Levicki was unavailable for comment.

Rocket Hall suffers maintenance issues

TPD drops student assault case, UT charges with code violations

FACILITIES ASSAULT

By Colleen AndersonManaging Editor

Several students have been charged with Student Code of Conduct violations following an off-campus student assault, according to a Feb. 1 University of Toledo press release. The Toledo Police have chosen not to press charges.

UT spokesperson Meghan Cunningham confirmed that the UT chapter of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity is still suspended, since the pro-cess is still ongoing. All students charged will have the chance for a hearing in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct.

William McKether, special assistant to the president for diversity, wrote in a university-wide email that while the Office of Student Judi-cial Affairs is moving forward with charges, the process is not yet concluded. According to the email, TPD contacted UT to inform them that after receiving conflicting accounts, they would not be moving forward with pressing charges.

“Most of us were not present when this incident occurred and do not have first-hand evidence of what happened. Those who were present have been interviewed as part of the investigation. Trust the process to achieve a fair conclusion,” McKether wrote.

The names of the students have not been an-nounced. Cunningham said the names will not be released unless the students are found to have violated the code, which will not be determined until after the investigation and any hearings are finished. At this time, UT does not have a pro-jected date of completion for the process.

The investigations were prompted after Rayshawn Watkins, a second-year majoring in marketing, said he was assaulted and called racial slurs Jan. 24 at a Pi Kappa Phi off-campus party. Accounts of the night conflicted, with a few claiming Watkins instigated the incident after intruding on a private birthday party.

McKether urged students to avoid stereo-typing in his email, regardless of the results of the Student Code of Conduct process.

“Please do not fall into the trap of stereotyp-ing all of a group of people based on experi-ences with individuals. Life is too rich to have it weighed down by stereotypes,” McKether wrote.

Lance Price Jr, president of the Black Student Union, wrote in an email interview that he thinks the investigation was handled fairly con-sidering the amount of evidence, and he does not fault TPD for dropping charges.

“From a criminal aspect, I don’t think there was any room for the police to operate. How-ever, because we do know that an assault took place at the frat house, I think there should be some type of disciplinary action from the school....after that I think it’s time to move on from this incident,” Price wrote.

The presidents of several fraternities did not respond to requests for comment.

McKether wrote that administration will continue to update the UT community on the investigation as more information is available.

“I am proud of the way this university and our students have responded to this incident,” McKether said.

Administrators handle diversity on campus

Enrollment and retention increases for Spring 2016

By Amanda PitrofEditor-in-chief

With the social and political climate of the country, universi-ties have been tasked with han-dling racism from both internal and external sources over the past year, with some schools rising to the occasion while others become cautionary tales.

The assault case Jan. 23, 2016, between a UT student and several fraternity members received a con-siderable amount of attention from the UT community, with allegations of racism popping up on twitter.

“Clearly there was an issue,” Gaber said. “Photo and com-ments went viral, and it was important that we responded promptly and that people under-stood that we care and that that’s not acceptable on this campus.”

UT isn’t the only school where

conversations about race and diversity have been prompted by incidents both on and off campus. Many students at various colleges are protesting racism on campus and the lack of administrative action in response to it. However, UT is one of the colleges that has not yet seen that kind of protest in the 2015-16 school year.

“I think what happened else-where was that there wasn’t an adequate communication out to the community to say, ‘Hey, I’ve heard you. We’re going to look into this and we’re going to fix it,’” said President Sharon Gaber.

The University of Missouri is one notable example of where administrative members faced the backlash of a community who felt not enough was being done to address racism on campus. After

shouted racial slurs and a swastika made of feces that was smeared on a bathroom wall, students began to protest. Even the faculty was wor-ried, and the University of Missouri Faculty Council on University Policy released a statement Nov. 5, 2015, to voice their concern.

As a result of the negative feedback from the community, both President Timothy Wolfe and Chancellor Richard Bowen Loftin resigned Nov. 9, 2015.

Ithaca College saw similar protests against the administration,

attended by both students and fac-ulty. A group of alumni published an open letter in The Ithacan news-paper, calling for Ithaca President Tom Rochon’s resignation.

“Throughout his tenure, Presi-dent Rochon has only exacer-bated this adverse racial climate, and his removal would signal a direct challenge to the top-down, culturally incompetent adminis-tration that currently inundates campus operations,” the group wrote in the open letter.

By Colleen AndersonManaging Editor

As the University of Toledo continues to develop its enrollment strategy, undergradu-ate enrollment numbers increased for the first time since 2010 while retention also rose and graduate enrollment continued to decline.

The enrollment numbers, which were released by the university on Jan. 26, mark a turning point in the university’s enrollment trend. The number of students in Spring 2016 at the 15-day mark was 18,849. At the same time last year, UT had 18,783 students enrolled, 66 students fewer than the current number.

“As the university develops a strategic enrollment plan to grow our student body, we intend to continue this momentum to both recruit and retain more UT students,” said UT President Sharon Gaber in a press release. “Every member of the UT faculty and staff is committed to the success of our students to ensure that they succeed in their studies and graduate on time. We will continue to see the enrollment numbers reflect that commitment.”

A job description for a permanent vice pres-ident for strategic enrollment management was posted Feb. 15, with a description saying the application review will begin on March 14.

According to an article written by the Toledo Blade on Jan. 27, Interim Vice President for Enrollment Management James Mager said the university hopes to hire someone for the position by summer.

Mager wrote in an email interview that UT has been making efforts to be more engaged with students and to personalize interactions, which he feels has contributed to the positive enrollment and retention rate.

“We are seeing a positive response from our increased communication to prospec-tive and current students in a way that is

CMU snaps Toledo’s four-game win streak

The Rockets fell 77-69 on the road to Central.

SPORTS / 5 »

““Death is death and there’s nothing praiseworthy about the unjust death of a person — police or civilian.”

PHILEMON ABAYATEYESociety dictated by the “we”

vs “them” mindset OPINION / 3 »

See Administration / 4 »

See Increase / 4 »

“As the university develops a strategic enrollment plan to grow our student body, we intend to continue this momentum to both recruit and retain more UT students.”

SHARON GABERUT President

ENROLLMENT

DIVERSITY

“I think what happened elsewhere was that there wasn’t an adequate communication out to the community.”

SHARON GABERUT President

Rockets finish weekend perfect

Men’s tennis won all three of their matches this weekend.

SPORTS / 5 »

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Wednesday, February 17, 2016 | The Independent Collegian | 3

We’re all complicit in modern-day slavery. At the very least, we should acknowledge this fact.

In December, the As-sociated Press released an article which horrified su-permarkets and seafood eaters: shrimp produced using slave labor is being sold at most major grocery chains, from Kroger to Whole Foods to Wal-Mart. Accord-ing to the article, shrimp has become one of the most popular seafoods in America in recent de-cades. The labor-intensive processes of gutting, vein-ing and peeling are done manually by hundreds, if not thousands, of facilities in Southeast Asia.

These facilities are unregulated and don’t have the best environment. They often use human trafficking victims or children to do the work in brutal condi-tions. Workers peel for 16 hours a day, are beaten if they work too slow and threat-ened with execution if they want to leave the facility. The de-humanized workers are assigned numbers in place of names. The child laborers are known to cry for days on end as they toil away helplessly.

The facts presented in the article are appalling, and as someone who has purchased seafood (the problem isn’t just limited to shrimp) from a number of the companies mentioned above, I can’t help but feel nauseated thinking about it. In a small way I feel like I’m responsible for contributing to the suffering and misery.

Unfortunately, slave labor is not limited to the seafood industry. The Department of Labor maintains a list of commodities

known to be produced by forced labor and the countries in which they are made. As of 2014, the list contained 55 items and

included things like coffee, beef and clothing, which majority of people use. However, it is difficult to know for sure the prod-uct you’re using has been produced through slave labor. Not all clothes are made with slave labor. Even with the labor department’s warning that, for example, clothing made in Vietnam is produced with slave labor; it seems extremely unlikely that all Vietnamese clothing is made by slaves.

We justify our purchases by giving them the benefit of the doubt and assume they

weren’t produced from slavery. If there isn’t definitive proof that something is made with slave labor, then why assume that it is? The problem with that type of thinking is that supply chains are extremely complicated and slavery is difficult to detect when it is occurring. For example, seafood needs to be caught, cleaned, processed, transported and packaged before it’s sold to a retailer. Each step involves different companies who do not necessarily answer to each other and who may each be using slave labor. Even when a major retailer does in-vest the resources to verify that a product is being sourced ethically, conditions are always changing so a supplier might begin

using slave labor and go undetected for quite some time.

To add to the problem, it seems that many companies do not invest in proper resources to ensure ethical and moral boundaries aren’t being crossed. A number of tech publications reported in 2014 that among large producers of smartphones, only Nokia could prove that its supply chain did not involve forced labor. As for the others, there seemed to be strong indi-cations that forced labor was being used in the manufacture of their devices.

Given how widespread slavery is and how common most of the products of slavery are, I think all of us need to recog-nize our complicity in the process. Even when we make efforts to shop ethically, the complexity of the global economy prevents us from making truly informed decisions.

From an individual’s perspective, it would be completely unrealistic for all of

us to make significant lifestyle changes by not buying certain products to help prevent slave labor. In other words, everyone isn’t about to simply give up their phones and stop buying clothes.

It might seem futile to even acknowledge our

complicity in slavery given the enormity of the problem. However, even at least realiz-ing there is a problem is a start. Acknowl-edging we’re part of the problem does not mean we’ll all make significant changes. But we will start thinking of ways to change things. As a society we may come to demand the regulation and oversight necessary to reform a “free market” that is run on slaves.

Kyle Novak is a masters student of philosophy.

OPINIONSend letters to the editor to [email protected] www.IndependentCollegian.com

EDITORIAL

COMMENTARY

Our part in combating slave labor

KYLENOVAK

IC COLUMNIST

Editorials appearing on this page represent the consensus view of the editorial staff. Columns and letters to the editor reflect the opinions

of their authors, not those of The Independent Collegian.

EDITORIAL BOARDJoe Heidenescher

Amanda PitrofJessica HarkerMaisha Rashid

Colleen Anderson

The University of Toledo can finally boast an increase in enrollment numbers, as the number increased from 18,783 from last spring to 18,849 total undergraduate and graduate students this spring semester. Enrollment num-bers have declined for five years, so this increase is much to be celebrated. As student admission increases, along with last semester’s increase in student retention, we are happy to see this growth and hope the trend continues.

While it’s difficult to gauge exactly what caused the increase, UT cited new strategies centered on personal-izing interactions with students, as well as a new College Credit plus program that may have led to the increase. Whatever the source for this, something is going right and we certainly hope the progress continues. Why? Increased enrollment is crucial for university success, and the falling enrollment over the last few years has dramatically af-fected the budget.

An increase in enrollment is an increase in revenue. It means more students are able to use the available facili-ties, and more money is available to hire faculty members, be used for athletic teams, fix infrastructure and enact required changes on campus. With enrollment increas-ing, we hope that measures like the hiring freeze that were necessary to cut costs will no longer be needed, and that the administration can focus more on improving the uni-versity instead of deliberating on what and where to cut.

Colleges around UT, including BGSU, are also showing an increase in enrollment numbers. Even though enroll-ment decreased at Owens Community College, their administration actually says the incoming number was more than what was projected for the school year. Our hope is that with the economy improving, more people are choosing UT over community colleges because they have the money to spend on a university, and that this trend will continue into the next few years.

The incoming freshmen indicate a gross increase in monies for the university, which would mean there would be more resources available for further increase in student numbers. Importantly, we recognize that the increase in monies would mean the ability to improve university in-frastructure by modernizing facilities, replacing outdated equipment and upgrading areas in and around campus.

The growth in student numbers may also call for an increase in room and board accommodations for the new students, and despite being primarily a commuter college, UT can accommodate more students — we have the room and the resources for it. Not only are there extra rooms available in dorms, there are off-campus housing opportu-nities and new on-campus housing complexes, and these promise sufficient space for the new students. They might be outdated, but if we knew more students will be using them in the future, the administration might make it a priority to invest money in them.

President Gaber emphasized a focus on the negative en-rollment numbers from the time she took office, and said she would work to see an increase in the numbers. Her administration has been developing different strategies to achieve that. For example, she has visited local high schools as part of her recruitment efforts and her admin-istration is holding focus groups with current students to identify the marketable assets of UT that bring in new students, as well as hiring an outside firm to help boost enrollment and changing the direction of UT’s enrollment strategy after Cruickshank stepped down. We predict that continuing with such efforts will keep up the numbers we have seen this semester, and we are happy to see Gaber making continued efforts to bring her plans to fruition.

Our point is not to identify each and every factor that dictates enrollment, but to acknowledge and applaud the increase, which has come after a long hiatus. UT had un-dergone a period of five years when enrollment numbers kept showing decreases. However, the trend seems to have changed now and we hope it will continue to be in the positive. While we cannot say that the increase was en-tirely a result of Gaber’s efforts, as she has been here for a short term only, her efforts are definitely moving towards keeping enrollment numbers positive.

Emily Schnipke

Society dictated by the “we” vs “them” mindsetLet’s face it. The world we know

does well when our choices and actions are framed in terms of the extreme. It’s black or white, rich or poor, good or bad, Christian or Muslim, Republican or Democrat. You know what I mean. Whether it’s a social, economic or political issue, we insist on taking a side, sides which have been previously made for us. However, we can make another choice — taking a broader perspective and seeing people on the diverse continuum of human-ity. Along those lines I want to reflect on one divide that has grown today — the ‘we’ ver-sus ‘them’ grouping.

As we grow, we need to challenge the ideas that limited our think-ing to this. Is there an ethical and a factual basis for these convictions? Or are we just indoctri-nated by our surroundings to believe that we have to take a particular side? I believe the ‘we’ versus ‘them’ group-ing generates mistrust and misplaced fear in our societies. It’s common to hear people say “They don’t like us,” “They want to hurt us,” “We’re better than them,” etc.

As an example I want to talk about how we react to issues of police kill-ing unarmed civilians versus civilians killing police. Unfortunately, we react differently to this evil depending on which side of this ‘we’ and ‘them’ category we belong. Civilians accuse the police of killing ‘them’ while the police accuse the civilians of killing ‘us’ in these situations. Death is death and there’s nothing praiseworthy about the unjust death of a person — police or civilian.

Let’s give it some perspective. Sher-riff Paul Laney of Case County, ND, said about police deaths, “People are hunting us. How do you think that

sits with us?” How is it ever justifi-able that Officers Jason Gooding of Seaside, OR and Greg Barney of Riverdale, GA were killed last couple weeks on the line of duty arresting criminals? How do you convince Officer Jason Moszer’s family that his

death, while respond-ing to a domestic disturbance, was justifiable?

On the other hand in a Mesa, AZ apartment, a co-worker’s call for police to pay Clarke, a transgen-der man, a welfare check ended up with him been killed. These killings are wrong. But instead of focusing on addressing these issues as evil and finding solutions to them we choose to use the ‘we’ and ‘them’ yardstick.

True reforms will require that we first breakdown these artifi-

cial walls we’ve created separating police and civilians in competing parties. We each exist for each other. What unites all these victims is neither the badge the officers held nor Clarke’s civilian status. It was their humanity. Like any of us, they had fami-lies, aspirations and feelings.

In 1996, Sam-uel Huntington predicted cultural wars among the world’s largest civilizations. Unfortunately, these cultural wars have also become religious wars — particularly between Christians and Muslims in our terrorism-antiterrorism conversations. It’s not com-mon to hear anti-Muslim sentiments in our society simply because some group of people using the banner of Islam have car-ried out unprovoked terrorist acts against

our society. We’ll know the story about the great number of lives that these terror-ists continue to take. Our lives have been changed in fundamental ways but is that enough reason to condemn a whole group of people for the crimes of a few? But of course, when the discussion is framed in the ‘we’ versus ‘them’ dimension, there’s only room for hatred.

So much that we forget about our sense of compassion even when we see the gory pictures of starving and drowning Syrian child refugees. We have no space for them because we think they’ll eventually grow and harm us. Let’s not forget about the 31 gover-nors who refused to accept Syrian refu-gees into their states last year. Perhaps a teaser from Gov. Nathan Deal’s tweet in the heat of the turmoil will put things in perspective. He wrote, “I’ve issued an executive order directing state agency heads to prevent the resettlement of Syrian refugees in GA.” The security concerns are real, but how impossible is it for the US to provide help to those needy fellows while concurrently secur-ing its frontiers? I’d think the greatest country on earth can do that.

We continue to live our lives within this ‘we’ versus ‘them’ framework in differ-

ent ways. The immigrants want our jobs, Republicans are taking away our votes, the government is against us, and it’s Blacks against Whites. The big issue is about defining what is right in each of these situations we

face. Sometimes we may not like “the right position” but at the end, the choice should be based on what is ethically acceptable. That choice builds goodwill and better friendships. It may be a utopian dream but at least we’ve got to try.

Philemon Abayateye is a doctoral student in geography and planning.

PHILEMONABAYATEYE

IC COLUMNIST

COMMENTARY

... many companies do not invest in proper re-sources to ensure ethical and moral boundaries aren’t being crossed.

I believe the ‘we’ versus ‘them’ grouping generates mistrust and misplaced fear in our societies. It’s common to hear people say “They don’t like us,” “They want to hurt us,” “We’re better than them”...

UT had undergone a period of five years when enrollment num-bers kept showing decreases. However, the trend seems to have changed now and we hope it will continue to be in the positive.

An increase in enrollment is an increase in revenue. It means more students are able to use the available facilities, and more money is available to hire faculty members, be used for athletic teams, fix infrastructure and enact required changes on campus.

An increase in enrollment will benefit students

Last week’s solution

STATEPOINT CROSSWORD

THEME: THE OSCARS

ACROSS1. Closet wood6. Universal time9. Baby’s first word?13. Courtyards14. Galley equipment15. Two-____ like Janus16. To eat greedily17. “Much ____ About

Nothing”18. Give a speech19. *Tarantino’s “The

____ Eight”21. *Matt Damon’s

nominated role23. Party bowlful24. Larger-than-life25. *Competitor to The

Oscars’ 2016 broadcaster

28. Mt. Everest to Earth30. Like meters and

kilograms35. Foot curve37. World’s Fair, e.g.39. Get wool from sheep40. Hard to find41. Rekindled43. “The Road Runner”

corporation44. Not hidden46. Black Friday event47. London subway48. Moves down50. Theories52. Relieve from53. *Oscar-winner De Niro

in “Once ____ a Time in America”

55. Club on a card, e.g.57. Barely adequate61. *Seven-time nominee

Kate65. Like a lemon,

tastewise66. *____ Cube outta

Compton68. Glittery stone69. Place to throw shrimp

on the barbie70. *____ Heflin,

Supporting Actor winner in 1942

71. With clear mind72. Moore in “Arthur” and

Belushi in “Animal House”

73. Paris in Tour de France, e.g.

74. *What the winner for Film Editing does

DOWN1. *Witherspoon won for

starring in his biopic2. Europe’s highest

volcano

3. “Doggone it!”4. *ABC did it to 2015’s

Academy Awards show

5. Basket-making fiber6. Orr’s score7. *Like Max8. Walk heavy-footed9. Marketplace10. Palm tree berry11. Of higher order12. Port in Yemen15. Military units20. Ritalin, e.g.22. Deadeye’s forte24. Make comprehensible25. *Cate Blanchett’s

2015 role26. Audience’s approval27. Nut holder29. *The two leads in

1979’s “Kramer vs. Kramer”

31. Not this32. Happen again33. More than one iamb34. *It stars Stallone36. This location38. Great masters’

medium, pl.42. Allegro and lento, in

music45. *Blacklisted

screenwriter49. Baden-Baden, e.g.51. *Firth, nominated for

2009’s “A ____ Man”54. EVOO source56. Imposter57. Rand McNally

products58. UN civil aviation

agency, acr.59. As opposed to gross60. *2001 Oscar-

nominated movie starring #61 Across

61. Direct one’s way62. Sites63. Leave on the cutting

room floor64. Kennedy and Turner67. Campbell’s container

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Like the administra-tors at Missouri, Rochon resigned Jan. 14, 2016, following votes of no confidence from students and faculty alike.

The students of Missouri and Ithaca proved that stu-dent voices can be extremely impactful on university campuses. So far, UT has not been the site of any protests, and Gaber aims to keep ensuring students have ways to be heard.

“I think there are lots of ways to respond when you feel like something has happened and you want to make sure that you’re heard,” Gaber said. “Our students have lots of options and I am very appreciative, and I believe that they understand we’re going through this process and they’re wait-ing to see what happens and how it works its way through, and they’ve been supportive of that.”

Gaber said having avenues of communication in place before the assault happened means that the administration is paying attention and is interested in doing the right thing for the campus. While there is a process to deal with issues once they arise, Gaber wants to prevent the issues entirely.

“I got here in July,” Gaber said. “I spent some time looking around and said, ‘What are we doing about diversity and inclusion?’ and I asked Dr. McK-ether … I said, ‘I’d like you to work with me on putting together a diver-sity plan.’”

The diversity plan is being created with the voices of both the campus community — students, faculty, staff — and the greater community, ac-cording to Willie McK-ether, special assistant to the president for diversity.

“Even though we have completed the focus groups, there’s now going to be an online survey, and that’s going to be critically important … the purpose of that is to allow all students, faculty and staff the opportunity to weigh in,” McKether said.

In addition to feedback from these groups, McK-ether said he is looking at the successful diversity plans of other schools, like the University of Califor-nia, Berkeley and Auburn University. He wants to see what they have put in place to see if anything can be modified to work for UT.

“I think we have uncov-ered that there are some issues related to inclusion, and the plan is to make sure that we address those,” Gaber said.

She said students go to college to become better educated and prepared for the future, and that ensuring students feel safe and included is part of that.

“This is our home,” Gaber said. “Why wouldn’t we want to be the best that we can be?”

Administration from page 1

more timely and personal-ized. Ongoing efforts to support students, such as the Success Coaches, also have helped retain more students,” Mager wrote.

One factor Mager said has helped increase enroll-ment is the College Credit Plus program, which the state created in conjunction with universities to replace post-secondary enrollment options and dual-credit enrollment. College Credit Plus allows high school students to earn college credit at no additional cost, and Mager wrote that the number of participating students has contributed to increased enrollment numbers.

Retention increased by roughly two percent, from 87 percent from last year to 89.1 percent this year. This is the second semester that reten-tion increased, following a 1.9 percent increase in retention for the Fall 2015 semester.

While overall enrollment and retention increased, graduate enrollment contin-ued to fall, down by 135 stu-dents since Spring 2015 for a total of 4,170 students. Mager wrote that the university projected this based on enroll-ment numbers from the fall, where the number of graduate students enrolled decreased by 279 students, and that gradu-ate enrollment will be a focus in the coming months.

“We will work to encourage more students to pursue and complete graduate degrees at UT in addition to our efforts

to reach and graduate addi-tional undergraduate students,” Mager wrote.

Ruffalo Noel-Levitz, the firm UT hired to help boost enroll-ment, is still in the process of developing an enrollment strategy for the university according to Mager, but one component of the strategy is “to continue our efforts for outreach to prospective and current students that is more personalized, customized and timely.” Mager wrote that enrollment numbers for Spring 2016 matched the predictions they made based on fall num-bers, but said it is still too early to make any exact estimations.

The last increase UT saw in enrolled students was in 2010, when the head count in-creased from 23,119 to 23,144. Following 2010, the head count of enrolled students fell to 22,642 in 2011, and numbers continued to fall for the following five years. Ac-cording to past press releases, UT cited a slowing economy and more focus on bringing in prepared students as a few of the reasons for this decline.

Increase from page 1

“Ongoing efforts to support students, such as the Success Coaches, also have helped retain more students.”

JAMES MAGERInterim Vice President for Enrollment Management

By Jackson RogersSports Reporter

The University of Toledo softball team got its 2016 season underway on Saturday at the Charlotte First Pitch Classic in Charlotte, NC.

The Rockets opened up with a 5-4 victory over the University of Massachusetts before dropping to Youngstown State 4-3 in the night cap. Toledo finished the weekend off with a 9-1 defeat to Charlotte.

“All day I thought we had good fight,” said Head Coach Kristen Butler. “We stayed very aggressive. We have ten newcomers to our squad this year and I think it was great experience for them.”

The Rockets started the season off hot with an RBI single to left field from sophomore DH Celeste Fidge bringing in redshirt freshman center fielder Ashley Rausch with the hit.

UMass responded in the bot-tom of the third with four runs, but wouldn’t score for the rest of the day.

With the bases loaded in the top of the fourth, redshirt freshman Kaitlyn Bergman singled to bring in two runs to make it 3-4.

In the top of the seventh Toledo put two more runs in to take a 5-4 lead off of a base hit to right field by sophomore Ashley Maynard. The right fielder for UMass made a field-ing error, allowing both runs to score.

That was the fifth error of the day for the Musketeers.

“(Getting the first win) It sets the tempo for the season,” Butler said. “I know with Toledo being a rebuilding program that getting wins is a step in the right direction for these young ladies.”

Toledo dominated the hit depart-ment against UMass with an 11-5 advantage. Nine Rockets picked up a hit in the process.

“The big thing there was that we had a couple of freshman get their

first collegiate hit, which was pretty special,” Butler said.

In the night cap of Saturday’s double header, the Penguins jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first coming off of Toledo’s only error in the game.

The Rockets ended up tying the game with two runs of their own in the fifth inning.

Freshman Megan Choate singled, then advanced to third on a fielding error by YSU’s right fielder that caused freshman Kaitlyn Cozy and Bergman to score.

Choate was then driven in by a sacrifice fly to the center fielder by freshman Danni Ryan to give Toledo a 3-2 lead.

In the bottom of the seventh YSU’s Sarah Dowd hit a two-run walk-off home run to give the Pen-guins a 4-3 victory.

“I think it showed good character by our team that we kept fighting back,” Butler said. “We came from behind and held a one-run lead in the seventh inning.”

In the weekend finale on Sunday against Charlotte the Rockets ran out of gas, as they only managed to score one run in a 9-1 beat down.

The Rockets played some sloppy softball, committing three errors on the night.

Charlotte started out the gas with some help scoring on a past ball in the top of the first. The 49ers put three runs in at the top of the sec-ond, forcing Butler to pull freshman pitcher Danni Ryan after the inning.

Charlotte brought in a single run in both the fourth and fifth inning before UT’s Choate broke the shutout with a double to center bringing in freshman Kim Frank, making the score 6-1.

The Rockets will return to action at the Houston Hilton Plaza Invita-tional on Feb.19-21.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016 | The Independent Collegian | 5

SPORTSFollow us on Twitter @IC_Sports www.IndependentCollegian.comLike us at Facebook.com/ICollegian

IN BRIEF

What to watch for...The Toledo women’s basketball team will travel to Bowling Green on Wednesday for the Battle of I-75. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Stroh Center. The Rockets have already faced the Falcons this season, defeating them 75-61 at home.

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Women’s BasketballSchool MAC OverallEAST DIVISION Ohio 11-1 19-4Akron 6-6 12-11Buffalo 4-8 12-11 Bowling Green 4-8 8-13Miami 3-9 9-14Kent State 2-10 5-17

WEST DIVISION Central Michigan 11-2 17-7Ball State 8-4 16-7Toledo 8-4 13-10Western Michigan 7-6 15-10Eastern Michigan 6-6 15-8Northern Illinois 3-9 10-13

SoftballSchool MAC OverallEAST DIVISION Kent State 0-0 5-0Bowling Green 0-0 1-3Buffalo 0-0 1-4 Miami 0-0 0-0Ohio 0-0 0-0Akron 0-0 0-5

WEST DIVISION Central Michigan 0-0 3-2Ball State 0-0 2-3Toledo 0-0 1-2Northern Illinois 0-0 0-0Western Michigan 0-0 0-0Eastern Michigan 0-0 0-5

MEN’S BASKETBALL

By Marcus DodsonSports Editor

The University of Toledo men’s basketball team fell 77-69 on the road to Central Michigan on Tuesday, snap-ping its four-game win streak.

With the loss, the Rockets dropped from the top spot in the Mid-American Confer-ence West division and now trail Ball State by a game.

UT (16-10, 7-6 MAC) was led by senior Nathan Boothe with team-highs 23 points and 10 rebounds. Joining him in double-figures were juniors Jonathan Williams and Zach Garber with 16 and 11 points respectively.

Williams had a rough night shooting the ball like many Rockets, and finished 0-of-7 from beyond the arch.

Toledo was held to just 12.9 percent from three-point land and 37.9 percent from the field.

Central (14-12, 7-6 MAC) was paced by junior Braylon Rayson with a game-high 26 points, knocking down 7-of-11 from beyond the arch. He also grabbed a team-high 9 rebounds. Senior Chris Fowler contributed 16 points, 8 rebounds and a game-high 5 assists.

Rayson knocked down a 3-pointer for the first points of the game to give Central an early lead.

Boothe hit a jumper at the 17:10 mark to give UT its first lead of the game, 6-5, but it was short-lived as CMU went on a 12-2 run over the next six minutes.

Toledo chipped away at the Chippewas and tied the game up at 20 after sophomore guard Stuckey Mosley’s layup at the 8:05 mark.

UT took over the lead after a corner trey by junior Jordan Lauf to take a 23-20 lead.

Central Michigan then caught fire from beyond the arch going on a 16-4 run and taking a 36-27 lead with just under three min-utes left in the quarter.

Garber knocked down a pair of free throws after a Central Michigan foul to cut the lead to seven but Cen-tral finished the half with three consecutive treys’ and took a 45-29 advantage into the locker room.

The Chippewas came out the break scoring first but the Rock-ets cut into CMU and trailed 51-42 after a Boothe three.

With 10:19 left in the game, freshman Jaelan San-ford knocked down a three to cut the lead inside of ten for the first time in the second half at 58-50.

Toledo continued trying to take back the lead and trailed by just three after a pair of Boothe free throws with just over five minutes left in the game.

The next three posses-sions for UT resulted in missed 3-point attempts and allowed Central to take a 68-62 lead with under four minutes to play.

The Rockets would get as close as 3 points to the lead but couldn’t get over the hump, falling 77-69 on the road.

Toledo returns to the court on Saturday when they travel to face Eastern Michigan. Tip-off is sched-uled for noon.

SOFTBALL

CMU snaps Toledo’s four-game win streak

MEN’S TENNIS

Rockets finish weekend perfectBy Keith BoggsSports Reporter

The University of Toledo men’s tennis team had a suc-cessful home outing this week-end, winning all three matches against their opponents.

The Rockets first defeated Detroit on Friday by a score of 4-3, then proceeded to beat Aquinas College 7-0 and Wayne State 6-1 on Saturday’s double header.

The Rockets got off to a quick start against the Titans, with junior Stjepan Sisko and freshman Luka Vitosevic tak-ing the first doubles match by a score of 6-1. Sophomore Omar Espinosa and fresh-man Juan Carranza followed that up with a quick 6-2 vic-tory of their own.

Toledo was well on their way to a sweep in the doubles competition when the No. 3 double match was called. Freshmen Vince Anzalone and Serjen Olmedo were ahead in the match 5-1 when the of-ficials intervened after Toledo won their first two matches.

In the No. 1 singles Sisko set the tone, winning his match 6-2, 7-6 extending his singles match winning streak to four.

Olmedo also won his set in the No. 5 singles, top-ping Adam Zychowicz 6-1 in two straight sets.

Unfortunately for the Rockets, they lost their next three matches — played

by Espinosa, Vitosevic and sophomore Stephen Miller respectively — and the game was tied at 3 a piece.

With the game on the line, Anzalone faced off against senior Titan Rafael Orantes. The two dramatically split their first two sets 6-4.

In the final set, Anzalone was able to hold off the se-nior, winning the set 6-2 and giving UT the win.

The Rockets surely would take advantage of that momentum.

Facing off against Aquinas College, Toledo got off to an-other fast start, again taking the first two doubles points.

Sisko and Vitosevic defeated Gunner Peery and Daymon Johnson 6-4 in the No. 1 doubles.

Olmedo and Anzalone then went on to win their match in the No. 3 doubles slot 6-3 to win the doubles point for Toledo.

Anzalone also won his match in two straight sets with the score of 6-2 in No. 2 singles. Freshman Reid Teat-

sorth won his match in two straight sets to claim victory in the No. 5 singles slot.

Vitosevic, Espinosa, Mill-er and Pejovic all needed three sets to claim victory for the Rockets.

The Rockets enjoyed similar success in their evening match against Wayne State University.

Sisko and Vitosevic picked up another doubles victory in the No. 1 doubles slot, winning 6-3. Carranza and Pejovic claimed the No. 3 doubles winning their set 6-2 and capturing the doubles point for UT.

The Rockets then went on to win five of the six singles matches for the day, coasting to a 6-1 victory on the day.

Sisko picked up a win in the No. 1 slot in two straight sets to continue his winning streak to five matches in the No. 1 slot.

Anzalone and Pejovic also only needed two sets to win their matches in the No. 2 and No. 6 singles spot.

Teatsorth was the only Rocket to fall short on the night losing in three sets (6-4, 3-6, 6-4) in the No. 5 singles.

The two Saturday victories moved Toledo’s record to a respectable 5-5 on the season.

The Rockets will look to keep the winning trend going, as they face Denison college at home on Friday.

Men’s BasketballSchool MAC OverallEAST DIVISION Akron 10-3 21-5Ohio 8-5 17-8Kent State 8-5 17-9 Buffalo 7-6 14-12Bowling Green 4-9 13-13Miami 3-10 9-17

WEST DIVISION Ball State 8-5 17-9Northern Illinois 7-6 18-8Toledo 7-6 16-10 Central Michigan 7-6 14-12Eastern Michigan 5-8 13-13Western Michigan 4-9 10-16

Rockets thaw

bats in opener

5-4UT UMass

PHO

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If you goWhat: Tennis MatchWhere: Shadow Val-

ley Tennis ClubWhen: Friday, Febru-

ary 19 at 5 p.m.Against: Denison

RACHEL NEARHOOF/ ICJunior center Zach Garber throws it down in UT’s dominating 93-49 home victory over Miami of Ohio.

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COMMUNITYFollow us on Twitter @TheICToledo www.IndependentCollegian.comLike us at Facebook.com/ICollegian

By Lauren GilbertCopy Editor

Choose your character and jump in the game this weekend at the 31st edition of BASHCon, the University of Toledo’s an-nual hobby gaming convention.

Spread across the entire Student Union, BASHCon aims to celebrate traditional and modern games such as role-playing games, board games, card games and video games.

“I guess the biggest thing you can expect to see at BASHCon is a bunch of like-minded people coming together to talk about board games and video games, as well as a vendors’ hall which is going to incorporate many different fandoms,” said Ben Wieland, staffing coordina-tor of BASHCon and president of BASH, the student hobby

gaming organization that runs the event each year.

Throughout the weekend, attendees can participate in RPGs, cosplays, miniatures games, workshops, panels, live-action RPGs, board games, computer and console tourna-ments, card games, arcade cabinets, demonstrations, mock combat and more.

A featured event during the convention is a charity An-droid: Netrunner tournament led by Jacob Merkle, the sales coordinator for BASHCon. The game pits two players, one representing a selfish mega-corporation and the other rep-resenting a vigilante freedom fighter, against each other in a dystopian, cyberpunk future.

All proceeds from the tournament will go toward Gamers Outreach, a gaming-based charity that helps provide equipment, technology and software to help children cope with treatment inside hospitals.

BASHCon will also feature its first indie game showcase, also led by Merkle. Volunteer staff members will teach event attendees how to play games created by independent game developers. This showcase is to show people that they can make their own board games if they want to, according to Max Barnt, event and program coordinator of BASHCon.

“[The indie game showcase] is allowing smaller, somewhat unknown gaming companies and different types of games to reach out to more people in the community and to receive publicity,” Merkle said.

This is the first time since 2013 that BASHCon will wel-come a special guest: actor and voice actor D.C. Douglas will participate in a panel, signings and a Q&A session, and will also be playing games through-out the weekend. Douglas is most known for voicing Albert Wesker from Resident Evil and is “an all-around hilarious guy,” according to Barnt.

“That’s one thing that we’re really excited about … it’s something that I don’t think many people would want to miss,” Merkle said.

Barnt said people should attend the convention because there will be something for everyone to enjoy.

“The way I see it is, we are giving back to not just the UT community, but the general community as a whole. We put on this event free of charge for UT students, faculty and staff every year and there’s just so much going on and whatever kind of gaming you like, even

if you don’t necessarily enjoy gaming, there’s almost always something for everyone,” Barnt said.

Barnt also said the students in charge of BASHCon are all volunteers and who dedicate their time because they deeply believe in the event.

“I just want people to know that our volunteers are that: they’re volunteers. We’re all college students here and we’re putting a lot of stuff on the line to help bring this event to not just the UT community but the community in general. We all believe in this event, which is why it’s going on BASHCon 31 and we just want to make sure that people have a good time,” Barnt said.

Merkle said students should go to BASHCon because of the immense variety of games that will be there for serious and casual gamers alike to play and learn.

“It’s a phenomenal experi-ence. We try to cover all types of nerd culture I guess you would say,” Merkle said. “We try to make it as entertain-ing as possible for all types of people, not just people who are seriously into it but also more

casual-like people.”Fun is Rule Zero of

BASH, according to their website, and that’s why Wieland said students should go to the conven-tion.

“Students should go to BASHCon to … support an organization that’s been around for 31 years now, and … to have a good time and have fun — to find other people that are just like them. Everyone likes to play a game once in a while and these are a bunch of people who like to play games all the time,” Wieland said.

Wieland said for those who have never been to a convention before, BASH-Con is a good one to go to since it’s smaller than most. His favorite part of the an-nual convention is getting to see the people who come year after year.

“You get to know those people really well and it’s really cool to get to see them again … it’s just really cool to see all those same people

and make those connections with them,” Wieland said. “It’s a great time to just come and have fun over the week-end when not a lot of things are going on and just see how a convention works.”

BASHCon is free for UT students, faculty and staff. Otherwise, a weekend badge is $20 or $15 for a single-day badge. For $30 — or $10 for UT community members — attendees receive a com-memorative T-shirt and a pass to many events for free. For students, faculty and staff who are not from UT, there is a $5 discount on all admission types.

BASHCon will run from 5 p.m. to midnight on Friday, 9 a.m. to midnight on Satur-day, and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. For more informa-tion, you can visit http://www.bashcon.com.

Gamers roll the diceCONVENTION

“This will be definitely a year for people to go to and it’s something that I don’t think many people would want to miss.”

JACOB MERKLEBASHCon sales

coordinator

“We all believe in this event, which is why it’s going on BASHCon 31 and we just want to make sure that people have a good time.”

MAX BARNTBASHCon event &

programming coordinator

Read more online...UT students perform “No Exit”, a play written by philsopher Jean-Paul Sartre. Directed by theater student Andrés Medina, the play focuses on three people trapped together to spend eternity in hell.

BASHCon celebrates 31 years with guest D.C. Douglas

If you goWhat: BASHCon 31Where: Student UnionWhen: Friday, Feb. 19

to Sunday, Feb. 21Sponsored by: BASH

University of ToledoSTUDENT HOUSING GUIDE

THEINDEPENDENTCOLLEGIAN

2 | The Independent Collegian | Spring 2016

Spring 2016 | The Independent Collegian | 3

Campus View Apartments1700 Secor Road(419) [email protected] available: 1-bedroom or 2-bedroom apartments.Description: Conveniently located next to the University of

Toledo’s Student Medical Center, Rocket Hall, and the Law Center. Campus View offers lighted off-street parking with covered parking spots. Private balcony/patio, 24-hour emer-gency maintenance, landscaping, dishwasher, trash removal, window coverings, and cable/Internet-ready suites are also provided.

Edge 11202540 Dorr Street419-214-6999www.Edge1120.comUnits available: Studio, 1- to 4-bedroom apartments and

townhomes.Description: Edge 1120, Toledo’s most contemporary student

housing community, is just steps off UT’s campus. Amenities include a 24-hour fitness center with on-demand fitness trainers, a yoga studio, a sand volleyball court, and super-fast WiFi throughout each building. Each apartment comes with brand-new furniture and a full washer/dryer.

Honors Academic Village2801 W. Bancroft Street419-530-5925www.honorsacademicvillage.comfacebook.com/HonorsAcademicVillageUnits available: Studio, 2-bedroom 1-bathroom double

semi-suite, 2-bedroom 1-bathroom semi-suite, 4-bedroom 2-bathroom. Description: Honors Academic Village is the newest on-campus housing option featuring modern living with on-campus convenience. Amenities include a 24-hour fitness center, business center, study lounges, iPad bar, a recreation center featuring billiards, foosball and Golden Tee arcade game. With furnished apartments and Wi-Fi throughout, HAV is the place to be!

Lofts at Gateway1450 Secor Road419-530-1330www.loftsatgateway.comwww.facebook.com/loftsatgatewayUnits available: 2 bedroom-1 bath, 4 bedroom-2 bathDescription: Located just steps away from the University of

Toledo, the Lofts at Gateway provides furnished modern units featuring fully equipped kitchens including stainless steel appliances. Washer & dryer, cable TV, and internet are all included at Lofts at Gateway. Right where you want to be, and right in your budget.

Olde Towne University Square Apartments1744 N. Westwood419-530-5900www.toledostudenthousing.comfacebook.com/OldeTowneApartments

Description: Olde Towne offers fully furnished student apartments in a variety of floor plans to choose from, individual liability leases, cable, internet and water are included. Each unit comes with a washer and dryer and every resident has their own private bathroom. Our club-house has on-site managers and maintenance through-out the week and 24-hour maintenance. Other amenities include 24-hour computer lab with free printing, 24-hour fitness center, game room, movie theater, pool and basketball court.

University Hills Apartments2247 University Hills Blvd419-330-1229www.liveuhills.com

Description: University Hills offers University of Toledo students a great living experience! Choose one of our 1, 2 or 4 bedroom student apartments and you’ll be able to enjoy a walk to a campus that is just 450 feet away. We just finished work on our outdoor fireplace and gathering area. With the opening of the new building in Fall 2015, students can enjoy a 24-hour fitness and business center as well as free tanning, complimentary coffee and more.

Vivo Apartments1473 Secor Road419-535-9096www.govivotoledo.comUnits available: Studio and 1- to 3-bedroom apartments.

Description: Located close to the university and within walking distance of major shopping and dining areas, Vivo Toledo’s apartments are sure to satisfy. We have affordable and premium rental options for students who wish to live alone or with others. Amenities include on-site laundry facili-ties, premium luxury units, and optional furniture packages. We’re also pet friendly!

HOUSING DIRECTORY

CONTENT DIRECTORYSigning your first lease: Tips to

remember before you make your apartment official

To help answer some common student questions about signing your first lease, we’ve interviewed Charlon Dewberry, managing attorney at the University of Toledo’s Student Legal Services. PAGE 4

10 signs to help you choose the right apartment

Before you sign a lease, here are some tips that will help you quickly separate the quality apartments from the subpar ones. PAGE 9

Settling in: A complete checklist of move-in essentials

Here’s a handy checklist that will help you keep track of the must-have items every new apartment needs, broken down room by room. PAGE 10


Tips to remember before you make your apartment officialBy Samantha RhodesFor the IC

You toured the place, asked all the right questions and decided you want to be a renter. But first, you have to finalize the agreement with your landlord. Signing a lease can be an intimidating pro-cess, but doesn’t need to be.

To help answer some common student questions, we’ve inter-viewed Charlon Dewberry, man-aging attorney at the University of Toledo’s Student Legal Services.

In legal terms, what is a lease?

“A lease is a legally binding con-tract which sets forth the rights and obligations agreed to by the property owner (landlord) and the person renting the property (ten-ant),” Dewberry said. “If either party does not perform their obli-gations under the lease, then they can be sued for breach of contract.”

What types of leases will students see?

Contrary to popular belief, Dew-berry points out there is no such thing as a “standard lease that fits all situations.” Some landlords may give the tenant a one-page docu-ment while others will present a longer one with multiple pages.

“Some leases are on a month-to-month basis, other leases are for a short term – such as 6 months – while other leases are for a longer term, such as one year or two years,” Dewberry said.

Why is it important to read the entire lease?

According to Dewberry, the landlord-tenant relationship is governed by Chapter 53 of the Ohio Revised Code, which ex-plains the tasks and responsibili-ties that the tent and landlord

should each perform.“However, one party in a lease

can agree to assume some of the tasks and responsibilities that the other party was to perform,” Dewberry said.

Dewberry urges students to make sure the landlord isn’t “trying to transfer some of their statutory ob-ligations to the tenant,” or forcing the tenant to assume responsibility for things the landlord is normally under obligation to do.

For example, if the tenant signs a lease which says he or she is re-sponsible for paying the cost of re-pairs to appliances provided in the rental, then the tenant is then re-sponsible for those costs. The lease can also require the tenant to pay a “non-refundable” appliance fee, ac-cording to Dewberry.

Dewberry said the lease should, at the very least, include provi-sions concerning the amount of rent to be paid, the date rent is due, identification of the property or premises to be rented, the con-tact information for the landlord, any fees for late or missed pay-ments, default provisions, how long the lease will last and any re-sponsibilities that the tenant has to pay, such as utilities.

Leases should also explain how much advance notice the tenant must give the landlord if he or she does not plan to renew the lease.

“Unfortunately, a lot of people assume that they only have to give 30 days advance notice … then they get hit with a bill for another month’s rent or more because they moved without either giving no-tice or they gave insufficient no-tice,” Dewberry said. “We have al-so seen leases automatically renew for an additional year.”

Dewberry reminds students that a lease is a binding contract and if signed, the court will as-sume all of it has been read.

What if you aren’t 100 percent sure?

First and foremost, don’t allow yourself to be pressured into sign-ing a lease you don’t understand or agree with. According to Dewber-ry, tenants have the right to speak up and ask to have terms they don’t like or agree with changed or removed from the lease.

“There is a lot of rental property around the university and so ten-ants should not give in to the hard sale and the pressure tactics that some landlords will engage in to get you to sign the lease as soon as possible,” Dewberry said. “Take the time to ask questions, to ask for modifications to the printed lease and to investigate multiple proper-ties before making a decision.”

What about room-mates?

According to Dewberry, finding well-matched roommates to live with should be a priority.

“Before you sign the lease and definitely before you move in to-gether, have a serious conversation with anyone you plan to move in with,” Dewberry said. “Discuss your study habits, your housekeep-ing preferences, your socializing preferences … Keep in mind that living with someone is different from hanging out with someone.”

According to Dewberry, most leases are “joint and several,” meaning that everyone who signs the lease is jointly and individually responsible for all of the obliga-tions under the lease.

“Your liability under your lease does not go away just because your roommate moved out or you are no longer getting along with that person,” Dewberry said.

Consequently, it’s crucial to ask yourself the question: “If my roommates move out or never move in, can I afford to rent this place on my own?”

Dewberry advises students to fill out a roommate agreement, or a written contract between all roommates that acknowledges their liability to each other for paying their respective share of

the rent, utilities, etc. These agreement forms are

available at Student Legal Services in Rocket Hall Room 1610.

What are some red flags to look for?

According to Dewberry, the fol-lowing are warning signs:

1. The prospective landlord re-fuses to give you a written lease – while Ohio law recognizes oral leas-es, you are running the risk that a dispute is going to arise at some point about what was promised.

2. The prospective landlord won’t let you take a copy of the lease to have someone review it with you. Ask yourself – what are they trying to hide?

3. The property management or ownership keeps changing.

4. You are asked to sign a lease that has blank spaces on it, and your landlord refuses to give you a copy of what you are signing.

Need more help?Student Legal Services and

Commuter Services will host a Landlord/Tenant Walk-In Lease Review Clinic on Feb. 27 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Student Union Commuter Lounge. Stu-dents need to bring their leases, photo identification, and any emails, photos, or correspondence with their landlords.

Dewberry urges students who do not understand their leases to consult with an attorney at Stu-dent Legal Services before sign-ing, where proposes leases can be reviewed by a licensed attorney.

“We would be happy to review your lease with you and explain to you in plain English what the lease says and how those terms will impact your rights and obli-gations,” Dewberry said.

For more information, contact Student Legal Services at 419-530-7230.

HOUSING

“Take the time to ask questions, to ask for modifications to the printed lease and to investigate multi-ple properties before making a decision.”

CHARLON DEWBERRYManaging Attorney at UT

Student Legal Services

your first leaseSigning





This ad has no design.You can

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Applicants should be proficient with Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator.

Art or design major desired but not required.


By Samantha RhodesFor the IC

Considering which apartment complex will best suit your needs as a tenant can be a long and tedious process.

However, before you sign a lease, here are some tips that will help you quickly separate the quality apartments from the subpar ones.

RENTING

Good lighting and availability in the parking lot If the parking lot seems to have spaces available during all times of day, there’s a

good chance you’ll be able to snag a spot without waiting. The guest parking policy is also important to ask about if you plan on having people visit. Good lighting and visibility at night means the landlord cares about your safety.

Positive reviews from the neighborsKnock on doors and talk directly to the neighbors within the complex about how

responsive the landlord is. Does he or she respond quickly to maintenance requests and act professional? These people will give you honest reviews based on firsthand experience.

A new-looking water heater and other appliancesHaving hot water is vital — the newer the water heater looks, the less chance

you’ll be stuck taking cold showers. Other appliances will also work more effectively the newer they are.

A phone number for a maintenance personGood apartments have a phone number tenants can call for a maintenance person

— even after hours. Inquire about how many maintenance people work on the prop-erty, how to get in touch with them, and when they are available.

Soundproof walls and insulationSome apartments have a concrete sheet between the walls and under the floors to

minimize outdoor sounds, such as street traffic. Ask the landlord about details such as insulation that you can’t see with the naked eye.

Evidence of pests Shine a flashlight in the nooks and crannies of cabinets in the kitchen and bathroom.

Other common hiding places for pests include under the refrigerator and laundry room appliances.

If you see bug droppings, which look like black pepper, or mice droppings, which re-semble maggot-shaped black pellets, then it’s time to start looking elsewhere.

Warping and stainsLeaks in the ceiling or under a sink can potentially turn into mold problems, so

take a close look at ceilings for blotches of discoloration. Signs of warped wood or linoleum under bathroom and kitchen cabinets, black

specks along baseboards or damp-feeling carpet are all sure signs that the landlord isn’t fixing these mold and mildew related problems.

Obvious odors or draftsIf a room smells musty, moist, smoky or like bug spray, these strange odors mean

there’s an underlying problem the landlord doesn’t want to tell you about. A lack of working smoke detectors

If the landlord doesn’t care enough to install or replace a smoke detector’s batteries, he or she doesn’t value the tenants’ safety.

A burglary bulletin board in the officeIf the complex office has a burglary bulletin board that’s covered, chances are your ar-

ea has a high crime rate. Be sure to check out the surrounding houses near the apart-ment, not just the complex itself.

GOOD SIGNS WARNING SIGNS


Moving in is a pretty stressful experience — and if you’re doing it by yourself for the first time, you might get overwhelmed by the number of things you’ll need to really make your place liveable.

Here’s a handy checklist that will help you keep track of the must-have items every new apart-ment needs. We’ve broken it down room by room, and we’ve includ-ed some suggested amounts.

SETTLING INA complete checklist of move-in essentials

PLANNING

The kitchen• Plates (at least 4)• Cups (both mugs and glasses)• Bowls (at least 4)• Silverware

PRO TIP: Pack a lot of spoons and forks. You’ll run out faster than you think.

• Two pots (a small one and a big one)• Two non-stick skillets (a small one and a big

one)• A baking sheet• A cake tin OR cupcake tin• A can opener and bottle opener• A vegetable peeler• Measuring spoons and cups• A strainer/colander• An oven mitt • Kitchen towel• A cutting board• One good kitchen knife• Tupperware• Saran Wrap / tinfoil / plastic bags• Dish washing supplies

The living room• Couch or futon• Blankets and throw pillows

PRO TIP: Comfy blankets can get pricey, but they’ll be worth the investment the next time you decide to Netflix and chill.

• Coasters• Small lamps • Coffee table• Wall décor• Book case• TV cabinet

The laundry room• Laundry basket• Detergent• Bleach• Dryer sheets• Iron and ironing board

The bedroom• A mattress (bed frame optional)• Sheets and a comforter• At least on dresser or chest• Full length mirror• Hangers• Shoe rack

The bathroom• Toothbrush, mouthwash and floss• Basic medicine including ibuprofen, cough

syrup, Pepto Bismol and antihistamine pills. • First aid kit with bandages and antiseptic• Plunger• Bath mat• Towel set• Drain catch

PRO TIP: Drain catches (aka hair catches) will help you avoid getting your pipes clogged. Sure, emptying them is a disgusting task, but standing in inches of gross water is so much worse.

For cleaning purposes• An all-purpose cleaner

PRO TIP: Many useful ways to clean up things include baking soda, vinegar and club soda, so it wouldn’t hurt to keep those on hand.

• Sponges• A toilet brush and cleaner• Broom and dust pan• Mop and mop bucket• Vacuum• Paper towels

For around the house• Duct tape• Flashlight • AA and AAA batteries• Fire extinguisher• Basic tool set• Sewing kit with needle and thread

ADDITIONAL PACKING AND UNPACKING TIPS

• Know exactly where you packed everything you’re going to need the first night. Those things are going to include your bedding, toiletries and a towel.

• Get toilet paper as soon as possible.

• Measure the door to your apartment before you bring any big items through, like a couch or set of dressers.

• If you’re moving heavy stuff, don’t forget to bend from the knees.

• Don’t throw away your boxes if you can help it — they’ll come in handy when you pack up again. Just slice the tape on them, fold them straight and store them in a closet.

• Make sure to check with your landlord before putting tacks or nails in the wall.



Documents

Feb. 17, 2016