No air conditioning or laundry facilities, infestation of roaches and deteriorating cabinets are some obstacles faced by many Polkinghorne Village students.
According to Christine Rogers, coordinator of student affairs, there are a lot of repairs needed for this facility.
“One of my major projects this year is to get funding for Polkinghorne,” said Rogers.
Rogers is currently writing a $350,000 grant due to the Department of Historical Preservation in Tallahassee by December 1. The grant would include funding for renovations to Polkinghorne as well as Diamond, Sampson and Truth Halls.
Some residents feel the increase in tuition should cover the cost of air conditioning units in Polkinghorne.
“If we have to pay all this money, I feel that we should be comfortable, especially with tuition going up,” said Polkinghorne resident Nikki Frazier, 23, a senior graphic design student from Gainesville.Polkinghorne, built in 1966, is the only on campus housing facility with no air conditioning available for students.
“They have never installed air conditioning units for students because it enables the rent rate to remain lower,” said Oscar Crumity, interim director of housing.
Crumity does not consider the lack of air conditioning to be a major problem for residents of Polkinghorne, “but possibly an inconvenience to some students.”
But some students feel it is more than an ‘inconvenience.’
“It messes with your study habits, and you can’t sleep when it’s hot,” said Frazier, who has resided in two units at Polkinghorne since Fall 2002 with no air conditioning.
Residents of Polkinghorne are allowed to have air conditioning, but they do have to purchase them, said Johnny McCaskill, hall manager for Polkinghorne.
Crumity feels that it’s the students’ responsibility to investigate what is in the housing units by reading the housing literature before they decide to reside in them.
“In literature on Polkinghorne, it states they don’t have air conditioning,” said Crumity.
Frazier also said she had a huge problem with roaches in her apartment. Frazier had to clean her entire refrigerator with comet and bleach after she found her refrigerator infested with roaches.
“You have to tap dance around here,” said Frazier, describing her current unit.
Crumity said the rooms are sprayed for roaches before the students move into them.
“The units are sprayed for roaches seven days prior to opening, and they return to each room two days prior to opening to remove any excess debris.”
In an effort to address student complaints, administration hired MGT of America. The Tallahassee based, private research and planning firm will perform a 10-year construction and renovating plan on Polkinghorne and other housing facilities on campus.
Said Cynthia Balogh, senior associate for MGT of America: “The university is concerned and that is why they contacted us because we have expertise in that area.”
Tiffany Smart can be reached at Tiffanydestini@hotmail.com