Students zoned out

County housing ordinance unfairly discriminates against college students

The harsh hand of single-family zoning laws has been a bulwark of college housing regulations for nearly a century.

These laws equate cohabiting students to sexual predators and strippers by designating sanctioned areas where they may, uh, do whatever it is that cohabiting college students do.

According to an Athens-Clarke County ordinance, single-family zoning laws are in place to reduce trash, noise, traffic and “overcrowding.” But The Red & Black editorial board knows these petty complaints are just a facade. The laws are in place to keep college students out of certain neighborhoods.

We get it: Athens’ non-student community doesn’t favor the idea of keg parties and loud music rattling Little Timmy’s morning bowl of Cheerios.

But odds are the University’s beer bong champions won’t be house-hunting in neighborhoods where noise complaints are as common as sand boxes and swing sets.

The editorial board thinks single-family zoning laws are discriminatory against single students looking for quiet and affordable housing in Athens. To combat this discrimination, county officials should be held accountable for informing students of zoned areas. Furthermore, officials should not evict tenants who unknowingly violate the single-family ordinance. Instead, landlords should be held accountable and fined for the infraction.

- Hayley Peterson for the editorial board