Why students should support performance standards:
A short history:
Since 1987, the A-CC Government has excluded students from high-quality neighborhoods with the Single-Family Definition. The Definition sets a limit on the number of unrelated individuals who may live in a single-family house. In 1987, four unrelated individuals could live together. When Athens and Clarke County unified, the Commission lowered the limit of unrelated individuals to two, the current level.
A-CC lowered the occupancy limit to exclude all students from single-family neighborhoods. The plan was simple: When the limit is two, the rent burden is shared among two occupants. Many of these houses rent for over $1000—most students can only afford this rent with 3 or more roommates.  
We share the same goals:
We want quality neighborhoods for families.  However, this does not preclude students from living in single-family neighborhoods.  By adopting stricter performance standards—by requiring students to conform to community standards of behavior—local residents can live happily with well-behaved students in their neighborhoods.
What about property values?
High rent potential drives the property values of single-family homes in A-CC. If A-CC could wave a wand, and make all the students disappear from single-family neighborhoods, the property values would plummet.  Families cannot afford to buy these homes, nor can they afford the rent that students pay.  
The current system is unfair.
No one knows how many students live unlawfully in single-family neighborhoods. So, there is no way to tell whether students are statistically more likely to cause problems in neighborhoods.
Nevertheless, A-CC has painted students with a wide brush. A-CC assumes that all students are unworthy of living alongside local residents. The single-family definition is unfair because it takes away our rights before we have behaved unacceptably.
Eastside ‘containment’ of the student population:
For years, local residents have tried to contain students on the East Side of Athens. East Athens, in A-CC Commissioner Ken Jordan’s words, has experienced the worst development in the County.  
The quality of life in East Athens is the poorest in the County. The County continues to push students to an area that also contains all the undesirable ingredients of a community: The East Side has the rock quarry, the jail, the water treatment plant, and many communication towers. Coincidentally (or not), the largest student-oriented apartment complexes are located on the East Side. Generally, these apartment complexes are inefficient, and not conducive to the lifestyle of the serious student.  
A Fallacious Argument = No Argument:
I encourage you to challenge a Commissioner on the Single-Family Definition.  Ask them: Why don’t we adopt a rule that allows well-behaved students to live in single-family neighborhoods?  Why preclude high-quality living for all students, when the problem is with a few bad apples?
Supporters of the single-family definition, invariably, will respond with fallacious arguments: Appeals to authority, slippery slopes, and ‘when you’re older, you’ll understand’ arguments.  Logically, their arguments are weightless.  
Logic is on our side: If bad behavior is a problem, the County should regulate unacceptable behavior. If upkeep of rental housing is a problem, fine lazy landlords who maintain their property poorly.
We can ban bad students from the neighborhoods by proscribing their characteristic behaviors: Parking in the grass, leaving interior furniture outside, and noise violations.
We can regulate bad landlords by requiring them to maintain their houses under the threat of monetary penalties.
In Conclusion:
With smiles and sophistry, A-CC has supported a system that drives rental prices up for students, paints students with a wide brush, and promotes containment of the student population.
By adopting conduct standards for students living in family communities, we can accomplish the goals of the Single-Family Definition, and allow responsible students to live with a higher quality of life.  
So, the issue is left up to you. I urge you to register to vote, and follow the local elections this year.
We have a voting block with huge potential.  Let us release some of that potential this fall.

--Chris Hoofnagle is a first-year law student, and the local government liaison for the Student Government Association.  To read more about the Single-Family Definition, check out Chris’ webpage: www.arches.uga.edu/~choof/sga.