Residents from more than 50 countries, many with children, may look to alternate housing if proposed rent increases are enacted in August.

E.S. King Village, located off of Gorman Street and Jackson Street, features studio, one and two-bedroom options for residents, many of whom are international and graduate students.

The property is awaiting the grand opening of a $1 million community center, and offers residents multi-cultural events as well as amenities such as carpeted floors and air-conditioned buildings — but may come standard with roaches who are reported to frequent the 50-year-old buildings.

Ultimately, students said they appreciate the programming and atmosphere provided by the Village, but are worried that with the proposed average rent increase of 4.25 percent for their studio — they won’t be able to stay.

“The dollar is what counts at the end of the day,” Rupali Ullal, mayor of King Village, said. “If the kids don’t have a place to go and have a party, it’s OK, we’ll manage.”

She said she is happy living on the property, and said she and her husband, a graduate student in biological sciences, make sacrifices to make ends meet but can’t continue to pay rates that are set to rise annually.

“I feel good staying over here, but some of the apartments with kids just aren’t nice,” she said.

Ullal represents the King Village council, and brought the issue to the chancellor in a Chancellor’s Liaison, a division of the President’s Roundtable, meeting last semester, resulting in an intense exchange between the mayor and University administrators.

Since then, she said she has contacted Susan Grant, director of University Housing, and hopes to negotiate the rising rent costs to help many students sustain their residences.

According to Grant, a budget proposal was presented to the council, which rejected plans for the 2006-2007 year.

Grant said the rent costs provide resources for the recent renovations and programs at the property. Grant also said the international component was an important asset.

Air conditioning and carpeting are among some of the renovations the Village has seen over the past three years.

Some of the residents, however, are less than pleased.

“Don’t give us the industrial grade carpeting,” Ullal said. “Give us the soft stuff.”

Grant pointed to the renovations as occurring in a seven-year cycle, with E.S. King Village being one of the recent recipients.

“The children benefit so much. It’s a safe environment with people from all over the world,” she said.

Ullal echoed the benefits, but noted uncertainties about the weight students’ concerns are given.

“We would like to start negotiating now, but I don’t know how much it will help,” she said.

Hany Younes, assistant director of Housing and director of King Village, said money from the rent is also allocated to provide security for the area.

In addition to campus security, he hired a private company to patrol the area from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m.

The measures were spawned, he said, from residents’ complaints of stolen property such as bicycles.

According to Younes, a native of Egypt, there are approximately 63 children at the property. He said they got a great deal out of the special programs offered at the Village.

The residence halls were fully occupied with a waiting list in recent years, and currently are at 70 percent occupancy, Younes said.

Like many others, the Ullals met with a waiting list when they first enquired.

Ullal’s husband, Anirudh, said the biggest question that residents deal with is sustainability. He pointed to a lean budget as something that most of the residents have come to expect, and said it may be getting out of their control.

“Most of us, being international students, start off adjusting to a new place and new surroundings, and we don’t stop to think about these things until they really start to pinch,” he said.

The residents said they were uncomfortable approaching the administration about the problem, because of their strong dependence on the University. Without their spouses’ status as a student, they would be forced to return to their countries.

The Ullals are natives of India, and said they have struggled financially to make an education possible.

Ullal received an MBA in her homeland, and is unable to work in the U.S. due to restrictions on her visa — making her husband’s $1,200 monthly stipend their only source of income.

“[Spouses] cannot work anywhere,” Ullal said. “I can’t even take up studying at N.C. State and enroll as a full-time student unless I change my visa.”

She noted concern because she said although she is a graduate of higher education, she is unable to apply for work at a fast food restaurant in the U.S.

Due to the couple’s limited resources, when she is sick Ullal said she calls her doctor in India instead of going to a practice in Raleigh to save money.

Balancing medical insurance, utilities, food and rent has increased stress for these students — especially the ones with children.

“If we were to have kids at this point, I would have to pack my bags and go back to India,” Ullal said, explaining that she and her husband have been married for five years and many members of her family have questioned when to expect another addition.

Leaning out the window, Rupali called to a friend in Hindi inviting her to come and speak about her concerns with rent.

The woman, Rajasri Nalatwad, rushed into the small studio apartment’s living room with a two-year-old son, Shreesh, in tow. She has two children and a husband who is also a graduate student in computer engineering.

Nalatwad came to the country on a work visa before her husband, and worked at IBM in the information technology industry.

She said she was forced to quit and stay home to care for her children — a decision that has put stress on the family’s monthly budget. Her biggest concerns with the property center around the quality of the accommodations for the price she is paying.

After her husband’s monthly stipend, ranging from $1,000 to $1,200, is allocated to pay bills she is concerned they may not be able to spare money for food and other necessary items.

“What remains for us to eat?” she asked. “At the end of the month, it hurts really bad.”

One heating unit is located in the living room of her two-bedroom apartment, and is supposed to be adequate heating for the living room and two additional rooms — including the children’s bedrooms.

Both Nalatwad and Ullal, fluent in three to four languages, say they enjoy the close-knit relationships with the neighbors and often organize their own social gatherings without the help of programming and the community center.

Ullal cited frustration with the allocation of funding given the amenities available at other on-campus housing locations — such as the new Wolf Village complex.

The next President’s Roundtable meeting is scheduled for Feb. 8, and Ullal said she will not raise the issue again unless something substantial has been accomplished, but hopes to open the pathways of communication with Grant and Housing.