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News :: Miscellaneous |
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UI Students - Beware of Buzz! |
Current rating: 0 |
by Mike Lehman
(No verified email address) |
01 Apr 2001
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The Daily Illini has run a series of "happy news" stories about Buzz Langhofer's campaign against Esther Patt to represent Urbana's heavily student populated First Ward in Tuesday's election. |
These stories have been long on the human interest aspect of a student running to represent students, but very short on important aspects of Buzz's positions for students. This soft-pedaling of Buzz's strong support from the worst slumlords of the campus area should be a big issue for any balanced coverage of this race, but the DI seems to want to shy away from this aspect of the race. Perhaps the DI is afraid of offending big advertisers - those very same slumlords that are supporting Buzz with his signs in their yards.
My as-yet unpublished letter to their editor is important reading before you vote on April 3, even if the DI doesn't want you to see it.
To the Editor,
Buzz Langhofer is running against Esther Patt in Urbana’s First Ward for city council. A story in your Wed. March 21 edition carried a headline that emphasized Buzz’s status as a student. Students should beware before voting for him "because he’s one of us." His campaign signs have appeared on the lawns of a number of landlords who have rather notorious records in renting near-campus housing. Is this merely a coincidence with him running against Esther Patt? More than likely not.
Ms. Patt is not only regarded as an effective representative of a ward with a great number of students in it, but also works at the University of Illinois as Coordinator of the Tenant Union. Thanks in part to her hard work, Urbana has rental ordinances that strictly enforce such rules as the requirement for 24 hour notice before landlords can access your apartment for normal maintenance. Champaign is a different matter - good luck over there, but Esther works hard to assist students in standing up for their rights and pressuring landlords to deal fairly with student renters wherever they live. She works hard to keep the horror stories of "the landlord from hell" from happening to you.
There should be little doubt whether Buzz would ever be a good representative for the average U of I student. At Urbana’s city council meeting on March 12, Buzz said: "what a landlord does should be his decision and not the decision of these 7 people (the city council)." There should be little doubt about why Buzz signs are appearing in the yards of flaky landlords.
Students concerned about the best person to represent them should stick with Esther Patt. She is a graduate of the U of I. While she may no longer be a student here, she is well aware of the needs and concerns of students through her daily work to make sure that landlords deal fairly with students. Vote for Patt to protect your rights in Urbana’s Ward One on April 3.
Mike Lehman
Junior, LAS |
