According to a 2002 article in Men’s Journal magazine, Ames is

one of the best places to live in America. I can’t say I disagree

with their statement; Ames has been a very good place for me to

spend my college years.

Unfortunately, for a city that thrives in part to its large

student population, many of the city ordinances seem to be

anti-student — the city of Ames is biting the hand that feeds

it.

The ordinance that has become the largest nuisance to students

recently has to do with over-occupancy regulations. Many students

were fined hundreds of dollars and driven from their homes because

they were living in a neighborhood zoned “residential low.” In such

neighborhoods it is against city code to have more than three

unrelated people living in the same house, despite the fact that

there may be more than enough room for more. This stipulation is

supposed to help keep the family neighborhoods intact in our

beloved city.

I like the idea of preserving family neighborhoods; however,

there is a lot of housing no more than three blocks from the Iowa

State campus that is zoned in this manner. It seems ridiculous to

make this area off-limits to students looking for cheap housing

close to classes. There are so many neighborhoods better suited to

being family oriented — why choose these?

The new seven percent sales tax has also been a thorn in the

sides of students. The tax has been raised to pay for a new school

being built in Ames. This is another example of how the city abuses

its college students. Huge revenues can be achieved through

additional sales taxes taken from about 27,000 students. Taxes are

generally paid to benefit the taxpayer, but in this case, students

paying an extra cent on the dollar are basically throwing their

money away.

I don’t understand why Ames didn’t opt for higher property

taxes. After all, property owners are more likely to have children

attending public school. I had always assumed this avenue was the

optimal choice for paying for new schools.

Unfortunately, the higher-ups know that students wouldn’t bother

to protest discriminatory acts — we’re too unorganized.

College students in Ames have a hard time finding parking spots

close to home. For those that aren’t lucky enough to have a

reserved spot or driveway, switching parking spots every day

becomes an annoying task. Even if someone is lucky to find a street

without parking regulations — I have yet to find one — the car

must be moved every 48 hours or it could be towed by the city. How

would you like to leave for spring break for a week and come back

to find your car gone?

What could possibly be left for me to complain about? Just when

you think the city wouldn’t go any further, they try to control our

drinking. In an effort to curb binge drinking, the city banned

drink specials. This ordinance has a small effect on bars and a

large effect on house parties.

According to Ames Municipal Code Section 17.18.1, “Offering an

unlimited or indefinite quantity of alcoholic beverages free of

charge to the purchaser of a cup, or to a person who pays a cover

charge or admission fee” is prohibited.

I think the city is forgetting that they don’t own my body — I

can drink myself to death if that’s what I want to do. Besides,

it’s a fact that if someone wants to get drunk, it’s going to

happen whether it costs me $40 or $5. Unlimited drinking is just a

benefit for the pocketbook.

Section 17.27 involves restrictions on keggers. In order to have

two kegs tapped concurrently, one must apply for a permit no less

than 24 hours before the event. There are certain requirements for

the permit such as having a sufficient number of trash cans and a

bathroom for every 50 partygoers.

For those that only wish to have one keg tapped at a time, the

city limits the total number of kegs that can be tapped during a

party. There is even a fancy chart in the municipal code that will

tell you the maximum number of kegs you can have based on how many

people are at the party and how long it lasts. The city will only

allow one keg per 100 people every two hours.

Let’s do the math here. A 15 gallon keg holds approximately 160

12 oz. beers. So, 100 people are allowed to consume 160 beers in

two hours. That’s a meager .8 beers per person an hour, and it’s

well known that all beer coming from the keg will not necessarily

make it into a cup.

I haven’t seen a citation written for having too many kegs yet,

but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. It will only take a few

angry residents to get the city to enforce it’s ordinances. We’ve

seen this before.

College students have enough to worry about as it is. Give us a

break and start treating us like the community members we are.