In 1979 the State College Borough quietly amended its zoning laws to inculde a new clissification of the word family. With Ordinance Number 952 the first step towards limiting Students right to choose where they live was taken. In this ordinance the word family was redefined to have a new meaning:

Family- an unlimited number of persons related by blood, marriage or adoption (including foster children) living together in a dwelling unit. Other persons not included in the foregoing definition are called "unrelated persons".

This subtle change in definition allowed the Borough to regulate "unrelated persons." This includes where they live, and who they live with. Not much was made of this fact, however, until 1997 when the Borough Council announced that it was proposing a new ordinance that would safegaurd State College from losing their neghborhoods and in the process protect the important borough tax base. Ordinance 1529 was first proposed in February of 1997, and met with with stiff opposition from students and many Landlords because it was considered discriminatory in the fact that it singled Students out as a separate class of people and created laws that only applied to them. It limits where Students can live, and who they can live with. During the Spring of that year the American Civil Liberties Union ran a petition drive collecting over 6,000 signitures opposing this ordinance, all of which were virtually ignored by the Borough Council.

-our faithful signiture collectors, from the left: Sapna, Brain, Julie, Jon, Scott, Ann, Robb, Heather, Julian, Dave.

The PSU-ACLU is continuing its campaign to eradicate these ordinances from the Borough Law Books. The Borough, continues to fight us every step of the way. The PSU-ACLU has obtained a permit to collect funds within the Borough, though not in an easy manner (read about what it takes to access your local government when you are a student at Penn State University in a letter the Collegian would not print). With these funds it is our hope to make a difference in the Borough by forcing the Council to remove the discriminatory clauses from these ordinances.