JOSH RANNEY
News Editor
After an hour of deliberation, the Fredonia Student Association passed a resolution opposing the Village of Fredonia rental law that is currently under consideration by the village trustees.
The vote was 3 approve, 15 oppose and 3 abstain.
“I’m pleased that any decision was made by a notable margin,” said SA President, Connor Aitcheson. “I am more comfortable knowing that it wasn’t a split decision by the Assembly.”
Aitcheson said that despite the heavy victory for the opposition, the discussion was very balanced leading up to the vote.
“Representatives and other concerned students detailed their concerns as to why they would be both in favor and opposed to the rental registry,” Aitcheson said.
Chief of Staff and senior class representative, Samantha Larson, was more convinced that a law like this was inappropriate and not in the interests of the Fredonia students.
“I didn’t feel like the grounds behind it were completely solid enough to warrant the breach in privacy,” she said. “It just seemed like a way to keep tabs on students.”
Larson was particularly concerned about the apparent focus on college students as inappropriate.
“The renters registry just feels like a target at college students,” said Larson.
The law, if approved, would mandate property owners and tenants provide their name, birthdate and contact information to the village for the sake of better policing and safety, according to village officials.
Supposed safety was not a good enough excuse, though, in the opinion of many representatives.
“I understand safety but at this level it seems unnecessary,” said Larson.
Aitcheson shared the questionable motivation based on assumed safety.
“While I do believe their intent is to better ensure safety of the renters and all residents of Fredonia, there are some safety concerns in having an individual’s name and place of residency on file as well,” he said. “There are many potential factors that perhaps weren’t considered during the drafting of this law.”
A major concern included in the resolution of opposition is the privacy and security of the information that would be provided.
Aitcheson said that the names, addresses and other information would be available to anyone via the Freedom of Information act. A contributing factor to why many representatives could not feel comfortable supporting the law.
Also, the resolution notes that less than half (49.8 percent) of Fredonia students live on campus. Meaning this law would impact a little more than half of the student population.
All things considered, the resolution of opposition was chosen to be the official stance of the Student Association, and therefore the students.
“The Fredonia Student Association officially oppose[s] the passing of any law or amendment that require[s] such a registry of information of tenants in rented property in the Village of Fredonia.”
Ultimately, Aitcheson and the Student Association hope their resolution urges the village board to reconsider this controversial law.
“Hopefully, bringing these concerns to light will allow the board to make an informed decision based on how this could affect our students and realize that there are still some grave logistical and safety issues as [it] relates to the renters registry specifically,” Aitcheson said.
The village will consider and most likely vote on the law on Monday.