Letters: Name proposal for State College; Fear leads to attempt at rewriting history

Name proposal for State College

I propose we change the name from State College to “Student Rental-ville.”

Fear leads to attempt at rewriting history

A new version of slavery has surfaced that African Americans were not targeted for their race, but were merely “indentured servants.” Labor and land shortages (a twist on 40 acres and a mule), led to slavery. In states or territories that outlawed slavery, slave owners (slaves were forbidden to read or write) used indentured contracts, but with terms up to 90 years, a lifetime of servitude nonetheless.

The Fugitive Slave law was not directed to white men and women who could find work and land further west. The rulings of the Supreme Court (Nat Turner), the Missouri Compromise (slaves were 3/5 of a person), laws against miscegenation, denied judicial protections, Jim Crow, Black Codes, and voting restrictions were only directed to African Americans.

African Americans’ history is unique: forcibly removed from their country, culture and family relationships destroyed, hunted like prey, disenfranchisement and discrimination, and now attempts to deny America’s true history because of whites fearing blame and increased antagonism by Blacks. The oral and written histories, the spotlight on the Black Wall Street massacre and Texas’ Juneteenth; sites of slaves’ auctions, state markers of lynchings, the FBI’S warning of the rebirth of white supremacy, all documented are directed to only people of color. The attempt to whitewash history by Texas’ textbook writers to call slaves “workers” is an example of whites’ “cancel culture” of the true history of Black people. Why does Black History by Black people translate into fear by whites and a need to rewrite history?

Inspections ensure safety of all renters

State College Borough just enacted a new ordinance that is a start in the right direction. Now private homeowners who want rent to visitors for football and other major weekends must obtain a license.

If these licenses alert the police to increase patrols, some nuisance factors that impact neighbors could be eased, such as loud parties and parking on the grass.

Where this new ordinance falls short is, it does not authorize safety inspections. The renter would have no assurance that the home’s electrical outlets are ground faulted, that there are working smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and CO2 detectors, or that exits and stairways are safe.

In these conditions, at some point an accident becomes inevitable. Instead of being reactive once something goes badly wrong and changing the rules then, why not be proactive in light of the risks involved?

Think about the food trucks so many of us are enjoying around town. They are inspected annually. Would you eat with them if they were not?

As the owner of long-term rental properties, I am accustomed to being inspected on a semi-annual basis, for the safety of my tenants. I ask the borough to consider their definition of landlord, and to explain why renting a home on a yearly basis differs from renting it on multiple party weekends. With that definition settled, we can develop a comprehensive plan that promotes safety of renters and neighborhoods.