MSA allocates $20,000 to AATU

The Ann Arbor Tenants Union can breath a sigh of relief after its opposition failed to garner enough support to abolish the organization.

The Michigan Student Assembly voted last night to keep the union, which represents renters in Ann Arbor, and allocate $20,000 from its budget to fund it.

But some things are going to change. The assembly, which has supported the organization financially since it was established in 1968, insisted on funding the union in quarterly installments. MSA's first payment to the union will total $8,000, which will allow AATU to cover a variety of current debts and function normally. Once the organization is back on its feet, it will receive three more funding installments of $4,000 each.

AATU came under fire this semester when students criticized the availability and quality of its services during the summer months.

MSA President Mike Nagrant said the assembly plans more involvement with the tenants union to make sure student services are provided adequately.

"We are not giving the money up front," Nagrant said. "We are going to revisit the tenants' union and monitor the progress in January and March and make sure the union is providing strong services to students. If they are, we will continue funding."

The opposition to the tenants union was led by MSA Campus Governance Chair Dan Serota. Serota, an LSA senior, proposed a resolution calling for the replacement of the tenants union with a student-run, non-profit organization that would be able to provide services for student renters.

Although Serota's proposal was voted down, the issue sparked a heated debate about student concerns regarding the responsibilities and accessibility of AATU. The debate ended with the assembly's confirmation of the need for more checks and balances in the relationship between MSA and the tenants union.

Serota said the new funding provisions might not be enough and warned that the debate may resurface in the future.

"I think the assembly is not learning from history," Serota said. "I hope improvements are made, but I am not confident that they will be."

Nagrant said Serota raised some valuable concerns in his resolution.

"I think the debate could have gone either way," Nagrant said.

When assembly members finally cast their votes, however, the resolution was easily defeated.

MSA Vice President Olga Savic said AATU will prove itself to the assembly as one of the best providers of counsel for students who have housing problems.

"I am confident the tenants union will provide high-level services," Savic said.

Nagrant said the decision made by the student government last night was not a spur of the moment act, but well researched by assembly members.

"I think it was in the best interests of the students to fund the tenants union," Nagrant said. "It was a careful and well-thought-out debate."

Director of Student Legal Services Douglas Lewis said it doesn't make sense to start a new organization when it would be easier to build upon the foundation that already exists. Lewis said the AATU has provided services to students for more than 30 years and should not be punished for one summer when the organization was not as productive as usual.

"I think I don't understand the logic of starting from scratch rather than fixing something that already works," Lewis said.

10-08-97