As an out of state student at MCTC I was presented with the honor of deciding whether or not I would like to be homeless for my second semester, this of course translating to the joys of apartment hunting. Now, apartment hunting isn’t the worst fate to bestow someone with an interest in sleeping indoors. But when considering that most apartments who actively rent to students are run by landlords (demons) with the desire of capitalizing on this common interest, living outside can afford you plenty of marketable luxuries (by renting standards) such as a better “walk score” or perhaps the winter breezes in Minneapolis can make up for the air conditioning that’s not offered at most of these places.

Whether your landlord (demon) is the human embodiment of Mr. Monopoly or Jeffery Dahmer is essentially up to chance. And this mostly stems from the fact that being a landlord (demon) has the worst qualifications imaginable; either having made enough money to thrive off the housing crisis or inheriting property that can then be groomed into a 300 square foot apartment that you can rent to a soon to be broke college student for 900$ a month.

It is my understanding that anyone who attempts to turn a profit on the innate desire to not be homeless is either on their way to hell, or a demon who crawled his way back up after realizing the seventh circle of hell has been subdivided into smaller circles that charge a premium for underfloor heating.

If it seems like I’m bitter about dedicating 80-90% of my income to rent, it’s because I am, nobody should have to work 25 hours a week as a full-time student just to live in a glorified closet valued at insane market prices just because they have aspirations of having a front yard (and perhaps an actual bedroom) in the future. Unfortunately, this is not a rare occurrence. It’s a tragic fate that is not exclusive to out of state students, many of our own here at MCTC are living paycheck to paycheck, crowding into apartments that have no business housing five people in a two bedroom flat only to have to skip meals because even then, their chump change isn’t enough in the eyes of the housing market. And it may never be if we become complacent with the housing crisis that has affected many for years.