Thursday, October 27, 2011

ResLife, what am I paying for?! (by anon)

My roommate and I pay about $1,700 per semester to live in the dorms. In no way do we expect dorm life to be perfect; however, this situation is getting ridiculous. My roommate and I left the window open with a fan in it the first few days of the semester in order combat the heat. As the days went on we noticed that not a few, but rather swarms of minute bugs were buzzing about our room. Green, brown, black, red; they were all there. After an hour long session of bug genocide, we closed the window to prevent the bugs from coming in. Despite the airplane noise produced by our four fans, it felt like a sauna (and still does). We could not sleep, and we woke up sweaty every day. Naturally, we asked our RA if someone could fix the window. Then we asked him again. And then again. And then we asked the assistant complex director. Each time we were assured that our window would be fixed soon. But it gets better. At one point, when we couldn't take the heat any longer, we gave in to temptation and open the window (instant relief). We noticed that the small bugs did not invade our room for a day or two. Instead, upon returning from our classes one day, we found four hornets aerially ambling throughout our room. After methodically killing them with hairspray and an army knife, we immediately closed the window. The hornets still found a way into our room. This happened three different times. The most recent of which was followed by our demanding that our window be fixed yet again to our RA. He assured us our room would be fixed tomorrow. And guess what? Tomorrow is over as of twenty-three hours ago. Excessive heat. No sleep. Unyielding hornets. No response.

I understand that maintenance must respond to many people. But we have asked over, and over, and over, and over, to the point where our issue was promised an immediate solution. My roommate and I pay good money to live here. It would be nice to be able to actually sleep in the room that we paid for without hornets and excessive heat. Of the $1,700 we pay for housing, it seems absurd that a somewhat speedy response (or a response at all) to a flagrant issue wouldn't be covered. Please, ResLife, show us where it is that all of our money goes so that we can see what exactly we are paying for.

16 comments:

  1. When will you students learn how to conduct business. Common sense should tell you that if they are not responsive to your complaints then go higher. I grew up with these words, may I speak with your supervisor? So send their supervisor an email with your complaints. Go to the top! Send an email to Chancellor Telfer. His email is telferr@uww.edu Always go to the top. Fuck the small fish. Make some noise! Send him some hornets.

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  2. Stop crying so much. At least you got a roof over your head. Get three meals a day, so life is good. I lived in a tent when I attended school. So you are blessed and you don't even know it. So suck it up.

    You will be out of here soon. Look at the faculty, their offices are in buildings that should be condemned. Stop expecting a penthouse. Be grateful and thankful you even have a room. Besides, you should be in the library.

    To 6:51, the Chancellor has more important things other than chasing hornets.

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  3. Micah B:

    Prayer has worked for me. I rented one of DK's apartments last year. It was filled with mice and other vermin. I called DK and complained about it but he just laughed. They did nothing. I turned it over to God and in less that a week my apartment was completely free of all vermin. So try pray it worked for me. God is listening.

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  4. Well 9:32 I'd agree with you if a lot of money wasn't actually being spent by the poster to live in a place with excessive bugs and heat. I'm guessing you didn't spend a lot of money to live in a tent, so you got what you paid for pretty much. Buuuut this poster is not getting what he/she is paying for. So yeah...

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  5. 11:39, Then move! Get out! Walk! That is what people do if they have a complaint instead of crying. Try prayer like 11:24 suggested or the Chancellor. If it does not work, then suck it up.

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  6. You pay $1700 dollars for housing for the entire semester, that is a bargain. You pay less than $450 a month. For comparison, I pay $1500 monthly. You cannot even rent a room in a flop house for $500. So, as 5:57 says, suck it up. Use your savings to purchase protective gear like a good wet suit or the outfit like the bee keepers wear to protect themselves from stings.

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  7. Such hateful and useless comments on here. 4:01, you must be drunk -- telling a college student to buy a wetsuit or beekeeper suit to wear around their dorm? Do you realize that many students are required to live on campus until they meet certain conditions, like reaching an age threshold?

    9:32, you must be ancient or a moron to have lived in a tent during school. Sorry, but having been voluntarily homeless doesn't give you the authority to flame someone for having higher standards than you. You're just an ass.

    And what the hell. Pray? I agree with 6:51 - go to the Chancellor. Also, submit this blog post as a Letter to the Editor at the Royal Purple. Those two sources are likely to do a lot more for the situation than Jesus is. I imagine he'll be too busy weeping over the utter lack of compassion displayed by the jackasses bullying students on this blog.

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  8. 3:37

    How is asking students to pray bullying students. You suggested that they write to the Royal Purple. That is about as useless as 4:01 telling them to get a wet suit to protect themselves from the hornets. I am not ashamed that I had to live in a tent. My idols have always been Native Americans who lived in Tee Pees, just like tents. They did not have mortgages. I do not have any student loans to pay back because I lived in a tent. How about you? I did not have to pay much for food because I ate what the other students left on their trays. I go to the events on campus just to eat the food. No one has ever asked me a question about my attendance. I just walk in and start eating. No one cares. I plan to attend the pig roast this week so I can eat some fat back. I always eat good during homecoming and football games. I don't spend a penny.

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  9. 3:37

    Professor, this is a blog, not a Sunday school meeting, so lighten up. You must be Mr. Nut Job.

    Look at yourself. You are doing the same exact thing you accuse others of doing, flaming. Here are your flames:

    "you must be drunk"

    "ancient or moron"

    "you are just an ass"

    "jackasses bullying students on this blog"

    I need to wash your mouth out with soap.

    Not one of the blogs you criticized used such foul language, so be a role model professor and clean it up or zip it up.

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  10. Sorry I wasn't clear--the bullying I referred involved telling someone their complaints weren't valid since you lived in a tent, and the other person suggesting living in a wetsuit. The suggestion to pray was simply useless, not bullying. To be fair, if praying would give the student the confidence and focus to write a good letter to the Chancellor, then I would encourage the student to do so, by all means.

    I have written to the Chancellor three times over complaints I've had. Twice it was over professors who I felt were not meeting standards UWW claimed to have and once was over a parking issue. All three complaints were resolved, and started with the Chancellor responding to me and updating me as he looked into the complaints.

    So, no, advising the OP to talk to the Chancellor is NOT useless. Also, the Royal Purple rarely gets decent Letters to the Editor so they will post just about anything well-written and possessing a clear argument. It would be best if the OP contacted someone at the Royal Purple office as their email inbox for Letters is usually crammed with incoherent babble. For the OP's benefit: the Royal Purple office is down the hallway beyond Uno's in the UC!

    5:20, for the sake of argument I'm going to assume you are NOT trolling me. If you are, enjoy. Just because you chose to live in a tent and eat people's scraps to avoid having to spend money does not mean that all students should subject themselves to such hardship. You also don't know the student's situation. UW-Whitewater requires students under a certain age (I think it's 21) to live on campus under the most common circumstances. There are exceptions, but many students do not meet them. Not to mention there are many students at UW-Whitewater, such as those who have physical handicaps, who need to live on campus in order to best accommodate their needs.

    Also, it's very easy to get an apartment in Whitewater for $500 or less, either by renting a small apartment further from campus or by rooming with someone. I myself pay just over $500 for an apartment with fantastic maintenance staff.

    I have no respect for someone who encourages people to suck it up and get over it, ever.

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  11. 5:26 - I admit I was pretty inflammatory, and intentionally so. I simply reciprocated the condescension and disrespect present in the comments I criticized in order to communicate my dissatisfaction. What's wrong with "foul" language? I use the entire English language to effectively communicate my point in the manner intended, not just the parts of the English language which are mommy and daddy-approved.

    Like you said, this isn't Sunday school. I'm also sure that I'm already a better role model than your condescending ass. Try to focus on real issues rather than petty censorship; you might achieve something someday.

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  12. 6:01

    I am going to have to soap out your mouth again but at least you have improved. However, you have not learned your lesson.

    Condescension and disrespect, if it is even that, is not a moral equivalence for "foul" language. Big difference. Do you use this kind of language in your own family, among your associates, perhaps even in class. There are many ways to express yourself without resorting to "foul" language.

    Try to refrain from reverting to it in your future communication and you may even become a better role model.

    Besides, its sort of silly anyway to call someone a foul name simply because you have no clue of the person's identity.

    So be cool. Notice - I have not used one "foul" name to describe you. Have a blessed day.

    Try it!

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  13. 5:51

    Mr/Ms YOU THOUGHT:

    You wrote to the chancellor because "you thought" these two profs were violating the standards. Like Polyphemous, my name is Nobody, but I have a few questions for you, Mr/Ms. YOU THOUGHT.

    So Mr/Ms YOU THOUGHT, before you "snitched" to the chancellor, did you give the faculty the benefit of the doubt and first discuss your concerns with them, or with the chair and dean and give them the opportunity to perhaps resolve the issue(s)? What about it, Mr/Ms. YOU THOUGHT?

    The gloating in your post actually answers my question. Without any feedback from the faculty members or their supervisors, you took it straight to the chancellor, perhaps even jeopardizing their future at the university, but Mr./Ms YOU THOUGHT you did not even give this a second thought. Like the hobbits, your mission was to go directly to Mount Doom.

    Another related question, did you file a formal written formal grievance against the faculty member and provide them with the opportunity to respond to your complaints? You probably do not even know the established UWW grievance and complaint procedures.

    Review the student handbook of the procedure for filing complaints against faculty members so you can do it right next time.

    Now the chancellor may have been able to exert his weight and resolve the issues informally, especially if the faculty members are not tenured, but a tenured faculty member knows the grievance and complaint procedures and would have told you and the chancellor to go shove it.

    In closing, I hate snitches. If you have a problem with a faculty member, then be courageous enough to discuss it with him. Don't act like a little kid and run home crying to your mommy or daddy.

    Mr. Nobody

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  14. 6:01

    Micah B

    How dare you say that prayer does not work or is useless. Tell that to the millions of people who believe in God. Besides, do you have a crystal ball? What is your evidence that prayer is useless. Even if you are a pagan and do not believe scientists have showed that pray in like meditation it calms the restless mind and is therefore it is useful, ever heard of the 12 step program. So get with the program dude.

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  15. Mr. Nobody,

    You need therapy.

    I don't care that you have some kind of deep-seated trauma regarding someone telling on you in your past.

    Referring to my past experiences with the Chancellor was intended to elucidate his usefulness in such a situation. Students are often feeling confused, angry and powerless when their initial contacts fail them. The Chancellor makes himself accessible to the students for a reason. There is likely someone better for the student to contact, but I don't know whom. Do you? In the meantime, why shouldn't a student make the Chancellor aware of a problem in his school that's failing to get resolved?

    I intentionally didn't elaborate on my experiences for brevity and privacy. Yes, I did contact the professors first. My actions were generally in line with the grievance procedure, but involved the Chancellor as well. I don't give a shit if bringing the Chancellor into it embarrasses the professor. (The first time I went above a professor I only contacted the Dean of the school and the Chancellor. I'm not weeping over that mistake--it takes 10 seconds to forward a misdirected email.)

    If I recall correctly, a written grievance is only called for if contacting the appropriate parties does not bring about a resolution. That wasn't necessary for me.

    Mr. Nobody, do you know who else hates snitches and tries to stamp them down with maliciousness? Drug dealers. Abusers. People hate snitches when they do things they want to stay secret. If the Chancellor merely knowing about a minor conflict between a professor and a student is enough to endanger the professor's career, there's either a problem with the Chancellor or the professor, not the student. Basically, not my problem. Shame on you for trying to intimidate a student from using every resource available to make their educational experience decent.

    5:45 (Micah?) - I said prayer as the sole solution to the problem was useless. Asking Jesus to fix the window or zap the maintenance guys into action is far less effective than asking someone in a position of authority in the school who professes to give a shit. I did also say that I would encourage using prayer to gain focus and confidence prior to taking REAL action if desired. Yes, that means I don't consider prayer to be REAL action. If that rubs you the wrong way, pray about it, cause I really don't give a shit.

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  16. People are using my name to make comments here. Not cool. Why are you doing that?

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