Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015 | Volume 211 | Number 3 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890.
Airport deal passed
New app may save students hundreds in textbook costs
ISU gives $250,000 to renovations, but another funding source still needed By Mitchel Anderson @iowastatedaily.com By Alex Hanson @iowastatedaily.com As students get settled in on campus for the fall semester, many are waiting to see if professors will require them to use textbooks for their classes, and shelling out hundreds of dollars this semester is something students may dread. Two ISU alumni are seeking an end to the problem many face by cutting the cost in half and saving students money. The new app “Flamingo” has launched on Android phones and tablets and is awaiting approval in the Apple app store. The app creators, Aaron Hurd, 2006 computer engineering graduate, and Joe Schneider, 2007 computer engineering graduate, said “students deserve a better way to buy and sell textbooks.” While both graduated from Iowa State, Hurd and Schneider met in 2006 while employed at John Deere, where they worked on creating auto-steering systems for tractors using GPS technology.
“We were always the rebels who tried to make things better, and we didn’t necessarily always ask for permission,” Hurd said. “We thought, ‘Okay, student textbooks. The whole experience with textbooks sucks.’ Students always spend $1,200 a year on textbooks, and at the end of the semester, you have to sell it back to the bookstore and get pennies on the dollar or try to sell it on Amazon.” They say “buying textbooks should be hasslefree,” which is why they have made simplicity the heart of the app. “Our thought is, you have a student taking, for example, Physics 221 this semester and finishing up, why not connect that student to the student taking Physics 221 next semester so they can sell their book?” Hurd said. Students looking to sell their books can open the app, take a picture and enter a few details, such as the book’s ISBN number. The app uses the phone’s GPS coordinates when listing the book, which allows students nearby to search for books closest to them. If someone finds a book they need to buy nearby, they can then message the seller through the app and meet with them, work out a price and receive the book in person quickly. “So our idea here is, say you’re in Larch Hall, we’ll show you books in Larch Hall first,” Hurd said. “You click on the book, and you can message the seller and arrange a time on campus to meet up. It could literally be you open the app, search for your book, message the seller and say ‘Hey, I live in Larch, you want to meet downstairs in 5 minutes?’ and you exchange the book for cash.” According to College Board, which is most known for administering the ACT and SAT tests, in-state college students at a four-year public university will spend around $1,225 on their textbooks each school year. As ISU alumni, they have decided to release the app exclusively to ISU students first. Going forward, they wish to hear feedback on the app and hope an early release will allow students to begin seeking out books to buy and start to help save
APP p4
The Ames City Council has approved a funding partnership with Iowa State to complete renovations to the Ames Municipal Airport at Tuesday’s city council meeting. The City Council voted to approve an agreement with Iowa State providing an additional $250,000 in financial contribution, but a source for the remaining $250,000 needed for the project is still in debate. Originally, monetary values were to be provided from the local sales tax fund, which is responsible for funding human services. Suzie Dobbs, resident of Ames, stated her concern that the funds that were being taken out of the local option sales tax fund would affect amenities for the mental health system, and she said that the mental health system needed all it could possibly get. The council voted not to use the funding from the fund, following councilman Matthew Goodman’s motion to take the money from the city’s hotel/ motel tax fund. “There’s an available balance, and it’s a one-time use, and it’s an area that could see return from funding the airport,” said Steve Schainker, city manager. The council approved taking the $250,000 from the hotel/ motel fund and also approved a contract with Absolute Concrete of Slater, Iowa, in the amount of $772,499.10 for the first phase of the site work. Damion Pregitzer, Ames traffic engineer, also presented a traffic study on the crosswalk by Hyland Avenue and between Oakland Street and Sheldon
COUNCIL p4
Students unfairly lose deposits Landlords take advantage of college-age renters By Alex-Parrott @iowawatch.org Hundreds of college students who rent private apartments while attending Iowa’s three public universities routinely are being taken advantage of by landlords who unfairly withhold security deposits that might be owed back to the students. It happens because the students are transient, usually moving after graduation before their lease expires; do not keep track of their expenses; and, in some instances, do not even know they are being charged fees they might not owe. Dumpsters off of Gilbert Street in Iowa City overflow with furniture and trash as University of Iowa students move out on July 28, 2015. “We figured we would get about a quarter of the deposit back,” said Cody Goodwin, 22, a former tenant of Apartments Downtown, Iowa City’s largest
housing provider. “Our landlord kept it all and gave us no explanation why.” Goodwin and students in Iowa City, Ames and Cedar Falls – home to the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and University of Northern Iowa – said in interviews they and many of their fellow students often were frustrated getting back security deposits designed to cover damage tenants cause at an apartment, and dealing with landlord charges they did not expect. The tenants’ complaints over the past few years cover a broad range: An Iowa City landlord who charged tenants for automatic carpet cleaning and damages resulting from burglaries. An Ames landlord charging an ISU student a late fee for accidentally sending a check written for an amount that was 2 cents under the monthly rent. A Cedar Falls landlord charging a UNI student for wall
damage caused by flooding. “Students move a lot and don’t know much about renting,” Iowa City attorney Christopher Warnock said. “Landlords take advantage of that.” Warnock is the man behind the Iowa Tenants Project, a service offering information to landlords and tenants to promote equitable cooperation between the two. Warnock also takes on legal cases as part of the project, representing landlords and tenants on a pro bono or reduced fee basis. He was one of the attorneys in a successful lawsuit by tenants against Apartments Downtown in Iowa City. Johnson County District Judge Chad Kepros granted a summary judgment against Apartments Downtown on July 8, ruling that a lease Apartments Downtown used from 2010 through 2014 had several illegal provisions. Those included: charg-
Makayla Tendall/IowaWatch
University of Iowa seniors Alec Lombardo, left, and Steven Moioffer move out of their apartment in Iowa City.
ing tenants for automatic carpet cleaning, fining tenants for damage to hallways and stairwells outside of their apartment, and requiring tenants to go to unreasonable lengths to clean their apartment. Judge Kepros also granted a class action certi-
fication, which could mean Apartments Downtown, owned by James Clark and his family, owes damages to thousands of individuals who rented from them under an illegal lease. “The Clarks are seen as the leaders in Iowa City and everyone else follows their
lead,” Warnock said. “And a bad lead it is.” Apartments Downtown management did not respond to four phone calls requesting a comment. The company denied in court the allegations made against
WATCH p8
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