By Kiersten Hacker

Students living in South Campus Commons and The Courtyards apartments are still fighting to get out of their leases after the management company of both buildings released an update to the “Rules and Regulations” section of leases in July, similar to the Department of Resident Life housing addendum. After all students were sent home in March, some decided to re-lease their apartments before receiving reopening plans from UMD while others waited, thinking they would have a way out. The fall semester has already started, and students are still waiting for answers from UMD.

There are three key entities involved in the public private partnership housing communities: Maryland Economic Development Corporation (MEDCO), Capstone and UMD. MEDCO is a state agency that funds the housing project through bond holders while Capstone On-Campus Management is a private company that manages the apartments. Through UMD’s relationship with both housing communities, the university will eventually gain full ownership of the apartments.  

When the updated rules were released by MEDCO and Capstone, students’ only way out was to re-lease — a task that is near impossible, given the risk of shared housing in the current pandemic. 

“It’s like trying to sell a house while it’s on fire essentially,” said Hannah Aalemansour, a senior biology and French major and leader of the student group, Concerned Tenants of UMD.

The updates changed the leases and left students without the option to opt-out like the Department of Resident Life housing addendum allowed. Students who did not want to assume the risk of the coronavirus were forced to find other individuals to take over their lease, despite UMD’s efforts to de-densify residence halls.

Capstone released a statement on behalf of MEDCO on July 24 that says, “…COCM as manager continues to work to connect them with students who would be eligible and willing to take over their lease and will continue to do so to assist in mitigating the financial impact on them.” 

However, Aalemansour said that students were provided with a waitlist that included students who had already graduated, students already living in the apartments and students who did not want to live there anymore. The list even had numerous male students in the female student section. Students desperate for re-lessors were contacting others on the list who had no intention of living in the apartments.

A South Campus Commons resident made a petition to release students from their 2020-2021 leases and it has gathered almost 2,500 signatures. Another group of residents decided to form a group, Concerned Tenants of UMD, also called UMD Tenants, to fight for help from the university to terminate their leases without financial penalty. 

“We’re just asking the university to protect us and to prioritize our health and safety like they’ve been saying” said Simin Li, a senior computer science major and member of the tenant group. The UMD Tenants held car caravans, virtual events and “power hours” where members would send emails to administrators, lawmakers and Capstone officials to have their voices heard. 

Through their activism, students were able to catch the attention of state delegates and multiple local news organizations. The tenant group was also featured on NBC Stay Tuned, NBC Washington and The Washington Post. 

UMD and the companies did not budge until they started accepting medical notes in August. In order to request medical exemption, students had to sign a document agreeing that they recognized the terms of the lease. Emma Denlinger, another member of UMD Tenants, said that if a student’s medical exemption request was denied after signing the document, “then that person can’t argue that the lease wasn’t valid anymore.” 

“That’s our main argument and so then they’re just stuck, they just have to live there,”  the senior biology and physiology major added. 

Though the group has received attention from different counties and other state officials, UMD President Darryll Pines has not addressed the issue. At a budget meeting, a state delegate asked the president why statements had not been released, to which Pines responded that he was sympathetic, but UMD was not responsible.

“We’re trying to get a sense of who can help us that is willing to help us and help those who are responsible come to the realization that they’re not upholding their responsibilities by ignoring us,” said Aalemansour.

While UMD does not claim responsibility because of the private aspect of the leases, the apartments still sit on university land and have staff from the Department of Resident Life. South Campus Commons is also listed on the Resident Life website with other residence halls. 

Students entered leases through MEDCO for both buildings and were reimbursed for the spring when UMD told MEDCO to officially let the students out of their leases with the onset of the pandemic in March. However, Li said that an email sent to State Delegate Marc Korman from MEDCO stated that UMD had not formally asked the company to let students out of their leases for the current academic year.

A group of students decided to seek representation from a lawyer to take group legal action. About 100 students chose to be represented by the lawyer, who is now in conversation with Capstone’s lawyer. The group’s lawyer sent a letter to MEDCO, Capstone and UMD “basically informing them that these leases are invalid, that those listed below are being represented by our lawyer and we decline to accept the terms of these broken leases,” said Li. There is a standstill between all entities involved, and there have been no legal movements.

“We have all the delegates on our side who are in charge of setting aside money for public institutions of higher education in the state of Maryland,” Aalemansour said. “Everyone is appalled by the situation except for the people who are involved in it.”

The state is willing to help the students, but they need UMD to agree to their plan to offer students a way out. 

“Again, they are taking responsibility but they can’t give it unless the solution is tied up completely, meaning that the other people need to really own up to what the situation is calling for,” Aalemansour said.

The update to the “Rules and Regulations” evoked fear from the students who would now be liable for contracting the coronavirus or death from Covid-19 complications. Students interested in getting out of their leases did not want to agree to be responsible for coronavirus cases or deaths due to the lack of precautions taken. 

“That’s the biggest contender,” Aalemansour said. “It’s a lot to ask students to protect their own lives when they’re being forced to go into a risky situation.” 

Students who have not been able to terminate their leases are still living with fear and a deep sense of abandonment. Most students living in the apartments are upperclassmen, so they have been a part of campus life for a few years. But now, Aalemansour said students are feeling distressed since something “you trust and something you poured your time, money and effort into is just being greedy.”

Denlinger spoke about the stress she felt when trying to find re-lessors, especially since she was busy trying to apply to medical school at the same time. 

“All these students have a ton of stuff to do, they shouldn’t have to be worrying about this kind of thing during a pandemic,” Denlinger said.

With the economic burden of the current pandemic and other high risk variables, students still in their leases are bearing such high stress that they do not have the mental capacity to continue raising their voice. Most students taking action are the ones who have managed to get out of their leases because otherwise, the situation is too debilitating and students would back out, according to Aalemansour.

 “We have to try because it’s embarrassing to keep making this much noise and have no response,” Aalemansour said. 

The UMD Tenants group has also gained support from fellow students. Both Aalemansour and Denlinger said that the car caravan they held last Saturday  was different from their previous caravans. More students joined them, watching from the streets, making noise and honking their own car horns while a helicopter recorded them from above.

“We really want our peers to see this,” Aalemansour said. “It’s hard when you can’t go knocking on people’s doors. You can’t go up into their face and say ‘why, I’m suffering and I need your help, stop doing this’.” 

The group has gained a following on Instagram and Twitter where they post news, updates on events and encourage other students to take part. Aalemansour hopes that the group’s call to action will attract more students to stand in solidarity and prevent a similar situation from happening to other groups on campus. 

“We want students to know that supporting any larger group of students on campus or any single student on campus is critical to their sense of safety in a university where the administration has a huge reputation of neglect,” Aalemansour said. “We want to end that for everyone right now.”

Featured photo by Kiersten Hacker/Stories Beneath the Shell.