I’m a big fan of the phrase “it’s a two-way street.” It essentially means the same thing as treat others as you wish to be treated or love your neighbor as yourself, but it’s a little more funky and chic.

On student-inhabited streets in the city of Eau Claire, particularly those in the Third Ward and the infamous “Student Ghetto,” I believe the standards landlords hold students accountable for aren’t always met the other way around.

As we get into the winter months, I see just how much this can be true, as my home near the end of Chippewa Street  gets ready for five long months of cold.

When my five roommates and I signed the lease last year, part of the agreement was that we’d shovel the snow in the winter and Campus Area Housing would mow our lawn in the summertime.

Personally, I enjoy putting in my iPod and letting my mind wander on a hot summer day while cutting the yard, but it seemed like a fair agreement to me.

But only one time did they come mow our yard in the summer. At times it looked like our house was in a giant prairie in spots that weren’t dried out.

Before the first snow even fell, we got a letter in the mail saying we would be fined around $190 if we didn’t have our snow shoveled within 24 hours. Oh, and if it snows when we all are gone at, oh I don’t know, let’s say Thanksgiving or Christmas, we would need to find someone else to shovel or the Student Housing Santa will deliver us a nice, hefty fee for the holidays.

Again, shoveling the snow is not the problem, as my roommates and I are totally okay with doing such a task. It’s just frustrating when we didn’t get that kind of effort in the summer with the lawn. It really makes us feel like we’re not worthy to be living in a house.

Speaking of winter, the roads in those same student neighborhoods are rarely plowed in a timely manner. This puzzles me, because I feel like this area of the city has one of the highest car-per-people ratio.

Each house probably has from anywhere of two to six cars, and people are always coming and going, whether it’s to work, class or running an errand.

Yet well after the snow has stopped and downtown and Clairemont Avenue are all plowed and salted, students still have to drive slowly to avoid slipping on the road and being at risk to get hurt.

Also in my house, our basement has been ripped apart a bunch since July, and in October, we had an hole in our basement that was accessible from the outside. So yes, anybody could have gotten into our house through the basement from the outside for about two weeks.

Let me conclude by saying that I seriously appreciate these student rental places providing housing to accommodate all the students wishing to live off-campus. I also appreciate them wanting to take care all of the properties.

All I’m asking for is not to be treated as just students who are only living there temporarily. After all, it is our home and I only hope to be treated as any other house owner or renter.