By Emily McIntyre
While the three BYUSA presidential candidates share some concerns about housing, their solutions to housing problems differ.
“Students are living in very poor housing,” said Rob Foster, BYUSA presidential candidate. “Some students are living in housing that needs to be improved.”
One of Foster”s opponents, Don Bennion, said if he is elected, he will pursue the problem of parking in off-campus housing.
“The major concerns students have are parking, booting and towing,” Bennion said. “There is also a housing shortage.”
Candidate Robert Marsh said he acknowledges prices are artificially inflated.
“But I am not concerned about it because these prices are caused by the BYU-approved housing, which I feel does a great job,” Marsh said.
Foster said he has a solution to make students voices better heard on housing issues.
“I would like to expand the BYUSA legislative assistant position so that they can have a greater influence on the city council with housing issues,” Foster said.
Marsh said students who have housing concerns can feel free to speak to him as the BYUSA president if elected.
“But once most students examine the issue thoroughly, they realize that BYU is on our side when it comes to housing,” Marsh said. “There is no way around the artificial rent inflation caused by BYU approved housing.”
Bunion says if he is elected he will allow housing concerns to be dealt with by specialists.
“We will absolutely accept emails,” Bennion said. “Those emails will be forwarded to the BYUSA legislative aid who can better deal with them,” Bennion said.
Bennion believes a solution could emerge to solve students” parking concerns.
“I think that the parking issues can be addressed,” Bunion said. “I think SCAMP could work with adequate parking.”
Foster said he is not going to promise unrealistic housing solutions that a BYUSA president does not have the capacity to implement.
“In past campaigns, candidates have made promises they just couldn”t live up to,” Foster said. “If elected we will be accountable for our promises by updating students each Tuesday with what we are doing in a column in The Daily Universe.”
