Is this thing on?

Junior and senior students at W&L often choose to live off-campus. W&L Associate Dean of Students Brandon Dotson estimated that this number would be close to 800 people. However, within the W&L administration there is no formal body that presides over off-campus house, leaving students to fend for themselves when dealing with landlords and real estate agents. While this may be a great opportunity for students to learn the fundamentals about dealing with finances and balancing a budget, in reality, the rental market in Lexington can be a scary place. A great example of the potential issues that face students when they move off-campus is the case of four junior women who moved into a home in town this summer. Upon moving into the rental property, the girls found that it was infested with bats. Over the course of the summer, the girls have had daily encounters with the furry creatures. Eventually, they asked their landlord to handle the bat infestation in their attic. Their landlord ended up using a “shot-vac” to remove the bats from the attic. The landlord was forced to drive all the way to D.C. in order to release the bats, so they would not return. This is a great example of where something to the effect of the Residential Inspection Commission would come into play. This new city ordinance is in its beginning stages, but will soon play a large role in the Lexington area. For more information, check out my vlog.