Letter to the Editor: Fleeing to The Retreat is Not ‘White Flight’

Last week, an article was published in the Nubian entitled “’White Flight,’ A Result of New Student Housing Complex,” that discussed the flight of white students fleeing from other student apartments to the new apartment complex The Retreat.  In this article Wolf Creek was a subject of comparison due to its high population of minority students, as well as the close proximity to The Retreat.

In the article, the author partly notes a life of luxury and race as factors in why white students have left student apartments such as Wolf Creek behind. Even though I feel as though the author made many valid points in his article, I believe that there are other underlying issues, which have caused flight from Wolf Creek Apartments.

While Wolf Creek Apartments offers one of the best rates in the area, the overall experience is pretty much equal to those rates. As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for.

I was a resident of Wolf Creek Apartments my last two undergraduate years at N.C. State. I terminated my lease six months ago, and until just two weeks ago, I was still dealing with the management.

During my two years as a resident there, management seemed to come and go like a revolving door; electricity overages were through the roof; and the apartment complex always liked to find a way to come up with an excessive charge.  The actual physical living environment of Wolf Creek wasn’t too bad, aside from one big shooting and a couple of alleged break ins. However, that could happen anywhere. My choice to live there is one thing that I would probably take back, looking at what has occurred in the recent past.

Months after moving out of Wolf Creek Apartments, I received a call from a collection agency in Texas that notified me that I supposedly owed the complex $575. The funny thing is when I moved out on July 31, a representative told me that I owed them nothing at all. I never received one notice from Wolf Creek in regards to the charges.

After digging deeper into the situation, I discovered that Wolf Creek sent my final account statement to New Jersey, after clearly noting an address in North Carolina on my intent to vacate. While I understood how one could make the mistake, management did not take responsibility for their actions. Included in the list of charges was a carpet replacement charge, for a carpet that they failed to clean prior to my moving in. It took an interview with a local news outlet to get them to clean up their act and they reversed the charges. However, it should have never gotten to that point.

Putting that with other horror stories I’ve heard regarding management, it’s no surprise that they would choose to leave. While students might prefer a high level of luxury when deciding upon where to live, I believe that the environment, as well as the competency level of management can send one running for the hills as well.

If anything, luxury more than likely has more to do with the flight away from Wolf Creek than race. If the intent of the students really was to separate themselves from one population, I don’t think they are trying very hard by moving next door. I believe the issues run deeper than what appears on the surface.

-Cj Guion

Editor Emeritus ’12