The Commons gets a lot of verbal abuse from students. There are too many carbs, not enough vegetables, the food has no fl avor and the menu is subpar.

These are just a handful of

complaints that can be heard while walking around campus. Although guff is often heard from those living on campus, rarely is it echoed from those liv-ing off campus.

This is because no matter the quality or desirability of the food, a hot meal that’s ready to be consumed with no cooking time and no trips to the store is not to be scoffed at.

Unfortunately, not everyone is lucky enough to have a meal plan. So, for those living off campus, we’ve compiled some quick and easy recipes that taste great and won’t break the bank.

Do you have problems with your landlord?

The tenant-landlord relation-ship can be a fragile one. You need to make sure you keep the house nice, stay on good terms and always pay the rent.

The tenant needs to be re-spectful of the landlord’s proper-ty. The landlord, in return, needs to be proactive.

However, that doesn’t always happen. Often, there is a negli-gent tenant and a lazy landlord.

Regardless, there are legal

rights that protect both the land-lord and the tenant.

Under Oregon State Law, Chapter 90, Title 10: Property Rights and Transactions, there are requirements the landlord is obligated to uphold.

First, before you sign a lease, make sure your landlord provides the essentials. It is important to know what the basics are.

Landlords are required by law to provide a certain level of safe-ty and cleanliness to their ten-ants. There are certain aspects of the residency that the landlord is required to deliver before rent-ing, according to habitability rights of tenants Chapter 90.320.

The landlord must waterproof and weatherproof the house. The doors, windows, roof and walls should keep rain and wind out. In addition, the doors and windows should all appropriately lock, as well as have a corresponding key if needed.

Another area a landlord is re-

quired to provide is a means for hot and cold running water that is connected with a sewage sys-tem. Additionally, the landlord needs to provide a source that can heat the entire complex.

Furthermore, landlords have to install working fi re detectors, complete with batteries.

A second area that can com-plicate the tenant-landlord re-lationship is repairs. It can be confusing to know who is re-sponsible, as well as getting your landlord to be proactive. Often, college students fi nd it hard to get a hold of their landlord.

A good gauge to know when the tenant should fi x it or when your landlord should is the extent to which you are responsible. If it is out of the tenant’s control, then it is a landlord issue. The tenant is required to keep the residency in respectable shape, accord-ing to Oregon State Law under Chapter 90.325.

Also, it is important to under-

stand the terms of the lease be-cause the minimal aspects, like repairs, are often covered in the lease.

However, there are ways to co-op the landlord into fi xing re-pairs, besides suing him.

If a repair is not made within 30 days from when the notice was received by the landlord, Portland has building code en-forcement, under Title 29: Prop-erty Maintenance Regulations.

This allows an inspector to examine the residency and evaluate any violations. In Port-land, if violations are found, the inspector will send a letter to your landlord and will fi ne them if they do not fi x the problems within 30 days. This system is compliant driven, so it is neces-sary to be persistent.

Another option is to give the landlord a 30-day notice that states the tenant will move out if the necessary repairs aren’t made within a certain period of time.

For a month-to-month tenancy, the time period for vital services, such as water and plumbing, is seven days.

Even though these measures may seem extreme, there are few legal options that tenants can pursue. There is no specifi c stat-ute that states when a landlord has to make a repair. However, it is best to talk to the landlord be-fore taking drastic measures.

Additionally, regardless of how safe an area is, around col-lege campuses there is often theft. It is important to know if the lease covers renters insur-ance. If the lease does not cover it, there is nothing a landlord has to legally do to recover the loss.

Therefore, it can be benefi -cial for a student to buy renters insurance.

For more information of du-ties of tenants and landlords, go to the Oregon State bar Web site – www.osbar.org.

The Beacon 7December 3, 2009

As December rolls around, it is time for UP students to start thinking about where they want to live next year. To make this process easier, ‘Moving on UP’ is � e Beacon’s guide to aid students in fi nding the perfect house, as well as turning that house into a home.

Moving on UP

Renters’ Rights

Hannah GrayStaff Writer

gray12@up.edu

When renting, both landlords and renters are bound by certain responsibilities

Hot and fresh out the kitchenSydney Syverson

Staff Writersyverson11@up.edu

The Best Bean Dip Ever

Jamie Kerr

1 can refried beans 3/4 cup cream cheese

3/4 cup sour cream

cheddar cheese 2 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon taco seasoning

lettucechopped tomatoes

Spread the beans out on the bottom of

a rectangular glass or metal baking dish. Stir the

cream cheese and sour cream until well mixed, and

and add the taco seasoning and garlic. Spread the

mixture over the beans evenly. Add a layer of

cheese over the top and bake at 350 degrees for about

25 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. Then add a

layer of lettuce and chopped tomato. Serve

with tortilla chips. Serves six.$17 total.

Taco SoupSydney Syverson

1 can corn 1 can kidney beans1 can green beans

taco seasoning, salt and pepper

1 can of tomato sauce

1 large can diced tomatoes

1 pound of lean ground beef

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add two cans of soup and milk. Stir and heat. Addrice and broccoli, salt and pepper. Pour in greased9x13 casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheese. Coverwith foil and bake for one hour. Remove foil andbake 10 minutes longer. Serves four to six people. About $15 total or $3/person.

1/2 stick butter

Broccoli Rice Casserole

Lauren Berg

1 onion, chopped

1 cup milk

1 cup minute rice1 cup cheddar cheese

1 pkg. frozen broccoli fl orets

2 cans cream of chicken soup

Open and pour all canned ingredients in a large pan. Brown ground beef and chopped onionsand add to vegetable mix. Add salt, pepper, and tacoseasoning to taste. Bring to boil and let simmer forabout 30 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips and cheese. Serves four to six people.About $14 or $2.80/person.

salt and pepper

Basic Cheese Quicheincredibleegg.org

1 baked pie crust

1 cup milk6 eggs

1 cup of bacon, peppers and

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup shredded cheese

onions

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spread cheeseevenly in bottom of pie shell. Top with fi lling in aneven layer (fi lling can be any combination of cheese,

meat, seafood or vegetables. Filling ingredientsshould be cooked, not raw). Beat eggs, milk and salt in medium bowl until blended. Pour over fi lling in pie shell. Bake until knife inserted near centercomes out clean, about 30-40 minutes. Let stand for5 minutes. Serves six people.

About $15.50 total or $2.58/person.

Moving on UP8 December 3, 2009

Moving out checklistp

Cookware essentials:Mixing bowlsSkilletPotsCasserole dishBaking sheetCutting boardsMeasuring cups and spoonsGrater and strainerSpatulaCan openerWooden or stainless steel Cooking spoonsKnivesOven mittsWhiskDishtowelsPlastic/ Gladware containersMicrowaveFlatware, bowls, utensils, cups

Cupboard essentials:RicePasta and pasta sauceCanned dice tomatoesExtra virgin olive oilCanola oilCooking sprayBreadCerealPeanut butterHoneyFlour and sugar

Salt and pepperBaking powder and sodaVanilla extractAluminum foil and plastic wrap

Fridge essentials:Butter/margarineCheeseMilkEggsYogurtJam/jellyKetchupLow-fat mayonnaiseMustard

Cleaning essentials:VacuumBroom/dustpanMop/bucketBathroom cleaner with bleachDisinfecting wipes for countersDish soapDishwasher detergentSponges (lots of them)Windex/ surface cleaner

Room essentials:Desk, desk chair, clothing Storage, bedReading lampMini fridgeCoat hooks

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

“I’m thinking about living off campus. I’ll be a

senior, and it’s probably about that time to live

off campus. I live in Haggerty, and it’s alright.”

- Mike Bastasch, junior

“I really like the independence of

living off campus. I also really like

driving to school.”

- Gabby Hansen, sophomore

“Our house had a huge leak, and one of my

roommates didn’t have to pay rent for a few

months. This made me miss the dorms a little.”

- Loan Duong , junior

TheGame

Of R

Decide h

ow

many house-

mates yo

u want

and whom they

should be. Four

to five house-

mates is

the

most common.

Decide h

ow fa

r you

are willi

ng to liv

e

from ca

mpus and th

e

highest amount

everyo

ne is willi

ng

to pay, in

cluding

utilitie

s.

craigs

list

Residence

Life

Find the

Portlan

d link

on cr

aigslist.

com an

d searc

h

through th

e

houses

availa

ble.

“We

found the house on craigslist,

called the land-lord, and sched-uled a time to see the house.”

-Ann Aeyes,

junior

Moving off campus is a complicated process. Students often find themselves floundering in the housing process without much instruction. Below are some simple steps to guide students on their journey to secure the perfect home.

Moving on UP The Beacon 9

Basic home toolbox

“We knew the girls that lived in the house before

so we got the landlord’s number, and called him

and asked if we could rent the house after them.”

- Brian Spencer, senior

R E N T

Artwork by Samantha Heathcote | THE BEACON

When living off campus, something is bound to go wrong. Whether it is an over flowing toi-

let or a shelf knocked loose by a drunken par-tier, UP off-campus residents must be ready to deal with any broken home décor or appliance curve-balls thrown their way. Preparing a tool kit to keep in their homes is a good way to start.

Sophomore Kevin Kelly lives in a house with three other guys and finds himself reaching for the duct tape frequently.

“It fixes anything and everything,” Kel-ly said. “Thank God for duct tape.”

Additionally, he recommends keeping a hammer, electric drill, socket wrenches and screws handy for hanging pictures and adjusting loose fixtures.

The Physical Plant employees agree and add a few more objects to the list,

urging students to invest in a Leatherman, a good

knife, a level and mea-

sur-

ing tape. They also suggest that students learn how to fix little prob-lems around their homes.

“It’s good to buy a crescent wrench and learn how to turn the water on and off in your house,” Rick Hoskins, a Physical Plant carpenter, said.

Along with all of the suggested items listed above, junior Peter VanDomelen and his roommates keep a flashlight and rubbing alcohol. The flashlight can be used in case of a power outage and the rubbing alcohol helps clean up little messes and tools. The two most frequently used items in his house are the bot-tle opener and plunger, however.

“Plungers and bottle openers are the most essential of all the tools in a man’s life,” Van-Domelen said. “I can’t even tell you how many times we’ve needed and used those things. Plunger to the max.”

Though the off-campus toolbox may seem like a large investment, Hoskins insists that many of the items are inexpensive – going for as little as a dollar a piece – and are worth the money. The recommended tools will last for years and keep a house full of college students from falling apart.

-Olga Mosiychuk

Residence

Life

Go to the

Residence Life office.

In a binder, there is a list of houses for

rent, marketed to college students.

“My housemates

and I are using the

binder because it’s

convenient , and it’s

easy since they’re

all in one place.”

-Erin Wodnik,

sophomore

Decide

the type of housing you

want: 1. rooms/shared,

2. sublets/ temporary

3. apartments/housing for rent.

CAREFUL! There’s a lot

under housing, so you have to weed through

to find the ones that are close to UP and that fit

your needs.

E-mail or call the landlord.

Tell them you’re inter-

ested and how many renters there will be.

E

-mail or call

the landlord. Tell them

you’re inter-ested and how

m

any renters there w

ill be.

Discuss

the term

s

of the h

ousing and

sign a lea

se with

the

landlord. Most s

tu-

dents need

a parent o

r

guardian to co

-sign. S

o,

decide w

hat paren

t should

go on the le

ase.

Moving off campus is a complicated process. Students often find themselves floundering in the housing process without much instruction. Below are some simple steps to guide students on their journey to secure the perfect home.

Moving off campus can be a bit like striking out into the wil-derness. Students who choose to live off campus may encounter wildlife through pets they bring into their home and the pests that come in uninvited.

Junior Rachel Snyder moved off campus her sophomore year. Excited about the many freedoms that she would enjoy off campus, she was especially thrilled at the prospect of being able to own a pet.

“I’ve always grown up with animals, and I was lonely,” Sny-

der said. A year ago she adopted a dog

named Spencer from the Hu-mane Society. Spencer changed Snyder’s lifestyle permanently because he was often sick.

“When I got him he had an ear infection, a staph infection, he was losing hair and severely underweight,” Snyder said. “I paid $1,500 in vet bills just to find out what was wrong with him.”

Snyder spent even more mon-ey trying to find food that Spen-cer would eat, and also pays $40 per month for medication.

“And because of his separa-tion anxiety I have to make trips home in between classes to see him,” Snyder said. “That’s not

including what I do when I’m home, like taking him to the dog park.”

Snyder has also had to deal with flea infestations that arose due to the arrival of a kitten her roommate adopted. The fleas bit all of the pets in the house and infested the carpet. The flea treatment was $30 per pet.

Sophomore Emma Chadband can relate to Snyder’s flea prob-lems.

She also experienced a flea infestation in her house when she adopted an abandoned two-week old kitten that she found on the street.

“If I hadn’t taken him in, he might have starved,” Chadband said.

Although pets can bring pests into a house, senior Aly Ferris wishes her lease allowed cats. For the past six months her house has been infested with mice.

“I can say that with certainty because I’ve seen them,” Ferris said.

Ferris explains that mice get into houses often through holes. A mouse’s bone structure allows it to fit through holes the size of a dime.

Ferris and her housemates contacted their landlord about

the problem. Ferris’ landlord tried traps and a special high fre-quency sound tool, both of which have failed to help. So, he tried something different.

“Our landlord went and put down some poison over fall break without checking with us first,” Ferris said.

Ferris is frustrated with the pet ban in her lease in light of their rodent infestation.

“I think the only solution to mice is a cat, which is forbidden in the lease,” Ferris said. “But when we had a cat here briefly over the summer, there were no mice.”

During his freshman year, ju-nior Brian Burns lived at home in Vancouver, Wash. When the commute became too much, Burns moved into Tyson Hall. This year, he decided to rent near campus to save money.

Although he wasn’t in one place for too long, Burns appre-ciated the opportunity to explore his options.

Living in Vancouver restrict-ed his participation in campus activities. By living in Tyson, he was able to develop the social aspect of college life. However, renting allowed him to remain close to campus as well as keep some money in his pocket.

“I like renting more than liv-ing on campus because I just pay my rent every month rather than paying it all up front as part of my tuition,” Burns said. “And it’s far less expensive than living on campus.”

While renting provides an opportunity for independence and experience as an adult with financial responsibilities, Burns made the move for convenience.

“I was always fairly inde-pendent anyway, so that didn’t change much,” Burns said. “But I hated the commute from home.”

Burns has become more cost-conscious now that he is man-aging his own money. Grocery shopping and paying the bills are added responsibilities, but they aren’t overbearing, he said.

Junior Samantha Kocher lived in Shipstad for two years before moving to Tyson Hall.

Tyson and Haggerty are like apartments and provide kitchen-ette facilities, shared bathrooms, private laundry facilities and in-ternet access in every room.

“My living style hasn’t changed too much,” Kocher said. “I don’t have a roommate, so I’m more spread out and even more unorganized.”

Tyson and Haggerty Halls al-low more flexibility for residents, but Kocher doesn’t feel that it’s necessary to take advantage of the freedom.

“When you grow older, it’s easier to live in a house,” she said. “I liked Shipstad because of the close community and we didn’t have to clean or restock bathrooms, but it’s nice to have my own space.”

Senior Kyle Woodard lived in Shipstad during his first two years, but rented during his ju-nior year. He lived in Tyson his senior year and is spending his fifth year in Haggerty. While ROTC spares him the burden of paying for housing, he felt that it was necessary to move into a house.

Woodard said that there are many benefits of renting off-campus, such as saving money, learning how to be responsible, personalizing living space and, of course, partying.

While hosting parties was a perk, he appreciated the tougher lessons of managing time, space and money.

“Believe it or not, I drank

more in Shipstad,” he said. “The community there was close, but renting teaches you to grow up and be responsible.”

Senior Kevlyn Mathews also experienced rapid changes in her housing situations that helped her get a handle on independence. Mathews decided to move out of Mehling and rent a place of her own before returning home.

“I wasn’t restricted off cam-pus,” Mathews said. “If I wanted to come home, I didn’t need my ID; if I was hungry, I cooked.”

While some students have opted out of living on-cam-pus, Michael Walsh, director of residence life, stresses the importance of experienc-ing four years of college on campus.

As a college student, Walsh decided to try a little inde-pendence. His off-campus ex-perience was horrendous, Walsh said. He returned to campus his ju-nior year.

“You’re go-ing to learn a lot no matter what,” Walsh said. “But my bias is to stay

on campus.”There is evidence that proves

that students who live on campus have better grades, graduate on time, have a better quality edu-cation and better relationships, Walsh said.

“You have your whole life to live off campus,” Walsh said. “Take advantage of the univer-sity.”

While that may be true, some students feel that living off cam-pus provides lessons that living on campus doesn’t fulfill.

“It’s like training wheels,” Mathews said. “You still have the support of your parents while you’re getting a motion for how to handle those situations.”

Universities may provide edu-cational growth, but the best col-lege experiences induce personal growth, Woodard said.

“Take advantage of the sup-port that UP provides and live off campus,” Woodard said. “This is a good time to make mistakes and a good opportunity to take risks.”

Moving on UP10 The Beacon December 3, 2009

Weighing living options on and off campusGao Na YangStaff Writer

yang11@up.edu

Jordan Schager | THE BEACON

When deciding where to live, students have several options. They can choose to live in the dorms, the Village, UP owned housing or to rent a house on their own.

Renters welcome some - not all - crittersMegan Osborn

Staff Writerosborn11@up.edu

Erica Ellingsen | THE BEACON

Senior Caterina Purves’s cat, Schnurly, lounges on the furniture in her home. Schnurly went missing two weeks ago. Contact Purves at (808) 896-3213 if Schnurly is found.