When I first began my college career, the last thing on my mind was worrying about the place I would stay.
After all, I decided to reside in a dorm. These are university-regulated buildings. Officials took the time to decide to close two of the boys’ dorms because they had so many problems they could not be saved. They took the steps to make sure that students were not endangered.
This must mean the dorms are up to par right? Well, not exactly.
The dorms look pretty good on the outside. However, if the dorms were thoroughly inspected, what one would find is almost shocking. We do not pay to live in substandard housing. So why do the dorms resemble just that?
The dorm I am in right now is considered to be one of the best dorms on campus. As far as I’m concerned, a dorm is a dorm, but this one isn’t so bad. There are just a few issues.
One in particular is the leaky window in my room.
Apparently, the folks before me tried to remedy the problem and they put duct tape on the window to plug the leak. It does not work, but at least it’s something. I just cover up my desk when it rains so that I will not come home to a waterlogged desk.
I do not want people to think I did not report the problems, because I did. In the first week of August, I put in a maintenance report. And they are going to fix it. They just called me about it last week.
For those who reside in dorms, that story is not farfetched at all. It seems amazing the amount of problems one can have in a dorm. The dorm I live in seems to have maintenance out every other day.
One day the heat broke. When they came out to fix it, it was on such high gear they had to come back out and turn it down to avoid cooking the occupants.
The circuit to my room and the room next door can’t seem to stay on. Maintenance said it had to do with my roommate and I and our neighbors. According to them, we have too many things plugged in. That’s understandable, but if that’s the case why didn’t anyone tell us there was a limit to the amount of things we may plug in?
If the dorms need so much maintenance, why are they still housing students? It’s madness, I say. Total madness.
I know it looks as though I am complaining, but that is hardly the case. I just want to understand. How can students pay the money they pay to live on campus only to have to go through all these issues? Where does the money go? It can’t possibly be to upkeep, because every day something tends to break down. It seems every day new plans are introduced for new dorms, and I’m quite sure it has nothing to do with there being more students living on campus.
Officials are simply trying to create places that are livable. I’m happy about that, but they need to expedite these plans.
Now, I’m convinced that the problems I’ve had here are on the extreme end. The issues I’ve had won’t stop me from living on campus next year. And although it is very frustrating, the residence halls do try to accommodate people as best they can. Last week, they had a Residence Hall Forum in which the Residence Hall Association was introduced, and students could voice their troubles. I am quite excited about it, because now things that need to be fixed can be finally taken care of. It’s about time.
Charlynique Reynolds is a sophomore English student from Miami. She can be reached at famuanopinions@hotmail.com.