College student is in big trouble after listing his dorm room on Airbnb
There haven't been any scientific studies about it (yet), but it seems like if a college student earns his own hashtag, it's either because he's done something brilliant or something unspeakably stupid. For Jack Worth, it could be both, depending on who you ask. The 19-year-old Emerson College student is currently facing disciplinary measures — possibly even expulsion — after he listed his own dorm room on Airbnb.
Worth (who is in the center of the picture above) told Boston.com that he created the listing so he could earn some extra money while attending the expensive Boston school. He said:
"Emerson is a fantastic location. There’s a high level of interest of travel in this neighborhood because it’s so centrally located. I saw this as a way to make some money, but also help some people out."
Three guests took him up on his offer and rented the room through the platform but, instead of fattening his own wallet, he had to pay a $150 fine after the school forced him to remove the listing. He will not disclose how much he was charging to rent the room during its short-lived appearance on the site.
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It's entirely possible that Worth will have to find a new place to stay himself: he could be dismissed from the college. In a statement to Boston.com, school officials said that subletting any dorm room or university housing was in violation of the school's policies. Emerson wrote:
"The Emerson College Residence Hall policy and the housing contract that undergraduate residents sign prohibit students from subleasing or renting College housing units or beds to protect residents and the community from exposure to safety and security risks."
Worth's friends and supporters started a Change.org petition, praising him for his "honest, entrepreneurial endeavor," and presumably urging the school not to kick him out. They also launched the #FreeJackWorth hashtag on Twitter, because college students have endless amounts of time to launch hashtags. Although Worth does have his advocates — including the other two dudes in the picture above — others have criticized him for maybe not thinking this whole thing through.
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Worth isn't the first college student to have this brilliant-slash-terrible idea. According to Fast Company, students in New York City and Berkeley, California have done the same thing, as has a Philadelphia-based fraternity who rented out an extra room in their house during the Pope's visit.