The administration just confirmed they are reverting the guest policy to our previous standards. My head is spinning from the effort it took to get here, but I am relieved we finally forced them to listen to us. Take this win for yourselves because we made them retreat.
December 30, 2016
Final supporters
At I-House we believe that we can *live, learn, collaborate and grow together in a values-based culture of empathy, respect, and moral courage". Yet our administration does not seem to care about those values they want us to follow.
They drastically changed the guest policies without heads-up and without considering our needs. A summary:
Before:
- 7 free nights limit
- up to 7 additional nights WITHOUT prior approval (paying extra fee)
- Potentially more nights in emergency situations, if Public Safety grants authorization
- fee per extra night (exceeding 7): $20
- 10 guests per resident allowed at any time (non-overnight)
Now:
- 6 free nights limit
- NO additional nights without prior approval
- Potentially more nights in emergency situations, if Public Safety grants authorization
- fee per extra night (exceeding 7): $30
- 5 guests per resident allowed at any time (non-overnight)
This means, the amount of guaranteed overnight stays was reduced from 14 to 6. Additionally, if someone gets the 8 extra nights (to get to the 14 granted before), that resident would have to pay an additional $100 (for nights 8-14: $10 more; full $30 for previously free 7th night).
This is just unacceptable, especially
- in a time without resident council
- right after signing the new membership agreements
- in the middle of a semester / residence period
- without heads-up and time to prepare for it
Many residents need the full 14 nights (or at least way more than 6) and relied on the previous policies to decide whether or not to move into Ihouse.
We are therefore asking the administration to revoke the changes - at least until the next semester when most residents get to decide again whether or not to stay at Ihouse.
>>> Please sign the petition (if you are not directly impacted yourself, please sign out of solidarity with fellow residents and the community). If possible, add your room number in the comments section. Also, please feel free to add to the text above in the comments. Thanks.
Updates
October 2, 2016
The administration stopped replying to my emails so I am spending my evenings drafting formal requests to see if they will even acknowledge the math behind these new fees. It is exhausting to fight for basic fairness when the people in charge refuse to look at the impact on our daily lives.
Reached 100 supporters
October 2, 2016
55 Comments
Room #6D1, North. I had planned a few weeks ago to invite my boyfriend for two weeks this winter, and we budgeted based on Ihouse's existing guest policy. If I were renting an apartment at equal rent, I would be able to have guests over for FREE. I'm willing to pay the extra fee for the 7 additional nights, but not more. Coming from India, we have a tight budget, and his trip was conceivable only because I have rented a place (at market price) in NY.
The guests policy already seemed like an unfair policy to place on adults paying extremely high rent. As adults we should be able to invite people in our home whenever we want, especially since many of us come from places far away from here, it would be nice to have friends and family to be able to visit us without breaking our bank accounts to accomadate their stay due to a restrictive visitation policy. I-House was established to help students studying far away from home feel more comfortable but it has done the opposite by limiting the amount of friends, family, and suppprt system they can have visit them.
In IHouse North, we have an apartment and have families who would like to visit us. As is the current rule was very stringent and the new rule would make it even more expensive and stringent. Most of us are studying here by taking loans and can not afford hotel rooms when parents or siblings are here to stay with us.
Many of us enjoy living at I House and would like to continue to do so and promote it to future residents. Unfortunately, policies like this restrictive and exorbitant guest policy make it very difficult for us to do so. This will surely discourage future residents from choosing I House as their home.
4L - I never received any official notification of this shift in policy via e-mail. The lack of warning seems very disruptive to plans of having family and friends visit, which I'm sure many here already have in place. There is also no explanation of why any of these added restrictions are necessary. Both the timing and the tone of this announcement seems disrespectful to me.
"...empathy, respect, and moral courage". What a joke. The new administration came in and changed everything that used to be good and fun about I-House. They forced out nearly all of the long-term key staff members who had served for years and even decades and replaced them with many Ford Foundation flunkies. I-House became much less of a community home and more of a corporate hub, complete with constant, unwanted, and rather ugly renovations. I enjoyed my time there, and enjoyed meeting so many great fellow residents and staff members, but I was also happy to leave. My advice would be to move out, leave these stupid rules behind, and start new group living arrangements with fellow residents.
Rm801
Share this petition
Share this petition to help it reach more people.
Your share link
The administration just confirmed they are reverting the guest policy to our previous standards. My head is spinning from the effort it took to get here, but I am relieved we finally forced them to listen to us. Take this win for yourselves because we made them retreat.
December 30, 2016
Final supporters
At I-House we believe that we can *live, learn, collaborate and grow together in a values-based culture of empathy, respect, and moral courage". Yet our administration does not seem to care about those values they want us to follow.
They drastically changed the guest policies without heads-up and without considering our needs. A summary:
Before:
- 7 free nights limit
- up to 7 additional nights WITHOUT prior approval (paying extra fee)
- Potentially more nights in emergency situations, if Public Safety grants authorization
- fee per extra night (exceeding 7): $20
- 10 guests per resident allowed at any time (non-overnight)
Now:
- 6 free nights limit
- NO additional nights without prior approval
- Potentially more nights in emergency situations, if Public Safety grants authorization
- fee per extra night (exceeding 7): $30
- 5 guests per resident allowed at any time (non-overnight)
This means, the amount of guaranteed overnight stays was reduced from 14 to 6. Additionally, if someone gets the 8 extra nights (to get to the 14 granted before), that resident would have to pay an additional $100 (for nights 8-14: $10 more; full $30 for previously free 7th night).
This is just unacceptable, especially
- in a time without resident council
- right after signing the new membership agreements
- in the middle of a semester / residence period
- without heads-up and time to prepare for it
Many residents need the full 14 nights (or at least way more than 6) and relied on the previous policies to decide whether or not to move into Ihouse.
We are therefore asking the administration to revoke the changes - at least until the next semester when most residents get to decide again whether or not to stay at Ihouse.
>>> Please sign the petition (if you are not directly impacted yourself, please sign out of solidarity with fellow residents and the community). If possible, add your room number in the comments section. Also, please feel free to add to the text above in the comments. Thanks.
Updates
October 2, 2016
The administration stopped replying to my emails so I am spending my evenings drafting formal requests to see if they will even acknowledge the math behind these new fees. It is exhausting to fight for basic fairness when the people in charge refuse to look at the impact on our daily lives.
Reached 100 supporters
October 2, 2016
55 Comments
My husband has already booked his tickets to come to New York based on the old rates! It is very unfair to change this in the middle of the team and contractually is unilateral change of contract! Completely unacceptable
Room #6D1, North. I had planned a few weeks ago to invite my boyfriend for two weeks this winter, and we budgeted based on Ihouse's existing guest policy. If I were renting an apartment at equal rent, I would be able to have guests over for FREE. I'm willing to pay the extra fee for the 7 additional nights, but not more. Coming from India, we have a tight budget, and his trip was conceivable only because I have rented a place (at market price) in NY.
The guests policy already seemed like an unfair policy to place on adults paying extremely high rent. As adults we should be able to invite people in our home whenever we want, especially since many of us come from places far away from here, it would be nice to have friends and family to be able to visit us without breaking our bank accounts to accomadate their stay due to a restrictive visitation policy. I-House was established to help students studying far away from home feel more comfortable but it has done the opposite by limiting the amount of friends, family, and suppprt system they can have visit them.
In IHouse North, we have an apartment and have families who would like to visit us. As is the current rule was very stringent and the new rule would make it even more expensive and stringent. Most of us are studying here by taking loans and can not afford hotel rooms when parents or siblings are here to stay with us.
Many of us enjoy living at I House and would like to continue to do so and promote it to future residents. Unfortunately, policies like this restrictive and exorbitant guest policy make it very difficult for us to do so. This will surely discourage future residents from choosing I House as their home.
4L - I never received any official notification of this shift in policy via e-mail. The lack of warning seems very disruptive to plans of having family and friends visit, which I'm sure many here already have in place. There is also no explanation of why any of these added restrictions are necessary. Both the timing and the tone of this announcement seems disrespectful to me.
"...empathy, respect, and moral courage". What a joke. The new administration came in and changed everything that used to be good and fun about I-House. They forced out nearly all of the long-term key staff members who had served for years and even decades and replaced them with many Ford Foundation flunkies. I-House became much less of a community home and more of a corporate hub, complete with constant, unwanted, and rather ugly renovations. I enjoyed my time there, and enjoyed meeting so many great fellow residents and staff members, but I was also happy to leave. My advice would be to move out, leave these stupid rules behind, and start new group living arrangements with fellow residents.
Rm801
Share this petition
Share this petition to help it reach more people.
Your share link
Petitions like this
Other petitions you might want to support
Scan to share
Anyone who scans this can sign the petition.
My husband has already booked his tickets to come to New York based on the old rates! It is very unfair to change this in the middle of the team and contractually is unilateral change of contract! Completely unacceptable