Fed up with your roommate’s boyfriend staying over too often? Is your landlord being unreasonable? Having trouble agreeing on how to split bills? SLO Solutions can help students deal with their frustrations.
SLO Solutions is a free conflict mediation service that is offered to San Luis Obispo residents and is run through the local company, Creative Mediation. Cal Poly, Cuesta College and the city of San Luis Obispo created SLO Solutions in the summer of 2004 after watching years of conflict between students and long-term residents sharing the same city.
“Conflict is natural,” said Creative Mediations staff member Amy Stapp. “We all have different lifestyles, but sometimes when it doesn’t get dealt with it’s frustrating, and when you have conflict where you live it’s hard to get away from it.”
The staff at Creative Mediations includes five mediators and four interns. They do not offer legal advice, but have been professionally trained to sit down with conflicted parties and resolve disputes through peaceful conversation. According to Stapp, when parties agree to mediate, they come to an agreement about 90 percent of the time.
“Mediation changes the way people think about the problem,” she said. “In conflict, people are often not at their best. Emotions are running; people have their own viewpoints. The great thing about sitting down with somebody you are in conflict with is you’re able to hear things from their perspective.”
Students are often in need of this type of service. More than 1,000 students have used SLO Solutions for conflict resolution since it began. The Creative Mediations staff has been featured at various student events including the Greek Summit retreat earlier this quarter.
The most common disputes are between landlords and tenants, since most students rent properties. Issues such as security deposit reimbursement, upkeep of the property and lease specifications are common matters that arise.
SLO Solutions also deals with conflict between college roommates. Whether roommates are having trouble with parking, noise, splitting bills, boyfriends, girlfriends or other issues, the staff at Creative Mediations says they can help. One way to resolve issues is to have parties sign a written agreement.
Stapp recalls one particulary heated conflict in a 10-house neighborhood made up of both renters and long-term residents. Since the renters had more cars than available parking spots, other residents were forced to park far away from their homes. These residents organized meetings through SLO Solutions and constructively came to a solution, Stapp said. They drafted a proposal for more parking space, which was accepted by the city of San Luis Obispo and the issue was resolved.
“We’re not therapy,” Stapp said. “We are not therapists able to delve into people’s emotional psyches. However, relational issues are often very present in conflict, so we’re able to help people talk through them and see if they’re able to come to a resolution.”
In some cases, parties are unable to come to a compromise through mediation. According to Stapp, even in these rare circumstances, mediation is beneficial because the parties at least had a conversation, something that wouldn’t have happened without a mediator.
Computer science senior Eddie Freeman works with Associated Students Inc. as a Chumash Challenge facilitator where he leads groups of people through team-building activities. Freeman can attest to the benefits that result from working together to solve problems.
“I think a program like SLO Solutions is a great idea,” he said. “People often need help with their problems because everyone is biased and it’s hard to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.”