ISU students are the lifeblood of Ames. Without the money that students spend in our community, or the influence of Iowa State, Ames would not be able to support the art, music and other cultural events it does. We would not host sports events like the Iowa Games or be known for our great facilities. We would not qualify as a city of 50,000 and the additional funding that comes with it without city solicited student support. Ames owes the students at Iowa State.

How is the city repaying the students?

By forcing students out of convenient and affordable housing near campus, and toward the outer edges of the city.

The city is fining students $500 per person when it is found that there are four or five people living in a four or five bedroom home, which is zoned for only three unrelated people.

That is an automatic $2,000-$3,500 windfall for the city, and they also fine both the operator and owner. They have fined over 60 people so far. That is at least $30,000 that goes into the city coffers on the backs of the students, with more promised to follow. They are using the police department to go into the students’ homes to determine occupancy.

The city has allowed a small minority of neighborhood zealots to turn its offices upside down, to involve police, to encourage a “Big Brother” reporting mentality and to tell students that they are not welcome. The laws are already in place to deal with parties, noise, parking and other concerns some neighbors may have. The fines and aggressive enforcement are proportionally outrageous. Ames should be pro-student, not anti-student.

E-mail your council members at city.ames.ia.us/councilweb/bios.htm

Sara Martin

Alumna