As I made apparent in last week’s “Top Hat,” there was a problem last school year with a company called RPI Rentals. When Troy Student Housing took over the management of RPI Rentals’ properties, the Senate still felt it was necessary to act on the problems mentioned before. The Senate banned TSH from posting on Union property. Recently, TSH was afforded the opportunity to come in and state its case to the Senate so that they could post listings and ads on Union property.

Their presentation, to say the least, was extremely impressive. The management of their properties in the area—Jason Hayes and Jamie Bray—showed us their stuff and explained to the Senate that, while the parent corporation of TSH resides in another state, there are eight full-time maintenance professionals on call, a great record of emergency and non-emergency response to building issues, and they have developed an incredible rapport with their residents in the last year. While the Senate has yet to vote on the issue, I could honestly see them being allowed to post in the Union this year. I would feel safer in a lot of their properties than in my current residence!

Before this turns into a free advertisement for them (sorry, TSH!) I would like to point out just how strong student support was in this effort. Last year, there was a problem. Students stepped up to the plate and really made a difference. The organization that existed last year violated students’ rights and was far from conducive to our students’ health. This drove our students to take away their power. Another company stepped in, and had no choice but to do better. Driven by that student opinion, the new TSH has reformatted, rehired, and renovated. I would say that the student body has passed this test with flying colors. We have certainly had an affect on a group that was violating our rights.