Here at BYU-Idaho we hear a lot about honesty, but sadly we don’t see enough of it.

Single students must live in “approved housing.” These units are supposed to abide by certain standards and have a more spiritual environment. It sounds great, but it’s not always true.

The reality is that approved housing is a $12 million-a-year joke students pay for. Approved owners and managers treat students more like livestock than people.

In two of the four units I have lived in, the owners and managers have grossly misrepresented the place. This misinformation only becomes apparent after I’m locked into a binding contract.

I have been cheated out of Internet service, fined for papers being on a desk and had a leaky refrigerator for a year that was never fixed. I have also spent four months without a way to lock my apartment and had frequent attacks on my integrity.

Treatment like this makes me wonder why I payed double. I lived in a unit that was charging $550 a month for a family but was making $1,320 a month off of single guys living in exactly the same apartment. We pay a premium price and receive substandard quality.

I love this school, but why should students pay extra with no benefit? The Housing Office has been made aware of these problems, yet it does nothing to protect students from abuses.

If you are having similar problems, don’t bother the Housing Office. Students are so low on its priority list that you will have to ask pond scum for cuts in line. Housing seems to have a two functions: to protect bad housing units and keep the charade going.

I suggested that housing let students inform one another of the realities of living in various units before signing a contract. I was told that too many students would lie about conditions. This assumption shows clearly the way we are seen and treated.

Disrespect for students is a disease with housing as one of the most obvious symptoms. It is time for the administration to clean house. They should either fix approved housing or end it completely.

The students have nothing to lose. The quality of the places we live in can hardly go down. The lies told by approved housing owners and managers and all other hypocrisies should be ended.

There are great things about BYU-I. The spiritual environment in wards and on campus is wonderful; most of my classes have been great, too. However, to be forced to waste my money in support of a deception is wrong and should not be allowed.

Saving face or letting a few people live high on the Rexburg student hog when they are not doing what they said they would do is dishonest, and it needs to stop. The past is behind us, but many students will still come to this school. They deserve better than what we have endured.

Things can be fixed and the school will be far better for it. There are other better alternatives to approved housing. The time for us to act is now.