It’s no secret that university housing is less than ideal.
Every other day it seems we find leaks in Walker or Banning halls, the gate is broken at Cokesbury Court Apartments, Oklahoma United Methodist Hall floods, and Smith Hall has been closed since Fall 2014.
Students complained at Star Summit that housing is too expensive, heat and air conditioning are not well-regulated, there is mold in the buildings, they receive poor service in the housing office, and laundry rooms are inadequate.
Students generate a list of concerns every spring semester at Star Summit, hosted by student affairs. Student affairs staff gives the list to Student Government Association and, in turn, they give the items on the list priority for resolutions.
University officials also recognized the need for changes in campus housing during prioritization last year. Prioritization is a process in which officials recommend what programs are priorities and which can receive funding cuts. Officials recommended that facilities be allocated more money for deferred maintenance.
It makes sense that more money needs to go into university housing, but we shouldn’t scrape more money out of students’ pockets for the needed maintenance.
Officials are increasing housing prices to start a rollover account, which will allow remaining money to be kept in a housing fund at the end of the fiscal year to save for future projects.
See Mediaocu.com for more on the plan.
The problem is that we already should have a rollover account to save these funds so needed maintenance, such as HVAC and plumbing, could be done now.
We need a plan to help housing, but maybe this isn’t the best one.
University officials should consider channeling more of the revenue generated from housing fees into the maintenance budget.
Money is tight, but investing in housing is important to attract students and improve the future of the university. This should not be the burden of current students who already think the cost of housing is too high.
Managing the money we have is essential to being fiscally responsible. Increasing revenue doesn’t do anything if we are not using it responsibly.
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