This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Salt Lake's mayor and city council are attempting to deal with low-income housing issues ("Two New Homeless Shelters?" Sept. 8), planning both for homeless shelters and affordable housing. Although solutions are extremely difficult to achieve, at least these issues have attracted public attention.
However, relatively few are aware that the University of Utah also has low-income housing issues. University Student Apartments (erstwhile "married student housing") consist of over 1,000 units, which were constructed in the 1960s and are dramatically showing their age. Orange tap water and broken water mains tell part of the story. The lack of air conditioners is downright inhumane when the temperature can top 100 for days on end. Plus, these old buildings are extremely vulnerable to earthquakes.
Finally, although these apartments are "affordable" compared to housing on the market, the university is still turning a profit from this program. The U. is gradually becoming a slumlord.
As a member of the U. community, I find these conditions shameful. The U. should postpone construction of the next gaudy sports facility on the list and provide these students and their families with safe, affordable, on-campus housing. After all, these hard-working people exemplify what is supposed to be our mission: education.
Robert Argenbright
Salt Lake City