Several students living in the Pembina Hall residence have brought forward concerns with deficiencies in the new building at a meeting hosted by the Residence Student Association Council (RSAC) Sept. 29.
Approximately 80 students attended the meeting to vote on a motion brought forward by RSAC, which stated that students living in the Pembina Hall Residence “are not satisfied with the completion and services of the building.”
Over half a dozen grievances with the residence were brought forward by RSAC, including safety concerns with ongoing construction, problems with access to wireless Internet, improperly equipped rooms and lounges, issues with plumbing and lack of proper mailboxes, among several others.
Students voted in favour of the motion, which will lobby RSAC to “take action” to voice the concerns of students affected by issues in the Pembina Hall Residence. This includes a formal petition and mass mailing campaign of grievance letters by the Resident Student Association and participating students.
The campaign will focus on both “voicing the displeasure of residents” and also attempting to secure a reduction in the fall term’s fee “to an amount equal to that which the residents of Mary Speechly Hall pay.”
The room rate for Pembina Hall for a single room per year is $5,900, while a single room in Mary Speechly is $4,015.
An open forum was provided during the meeting to allow students to bring forward additional grievances with the residence.
Some students expressed concerns about elevators in the building, saying they had been consistently not working properly. One incident mentioned concerned a group of 13 students stuck in an elevator for close to an hour.
Several students also claimed construction workers have been coming into rooms without giving students enough notice, sometimes without students’ permission.
University administrators were in attendance to respond to concerns brought forward by students.
Pat Reid, director of Ancillary Services, told students that she was “very sorry that you have to be here tonight.”
“We, with all good faith, tried to deliver what you saw on that website,” she said, referring to the university’s online brochure.
“It’s a very complicated building; it’s nothing like we’ve ever built before. I’m not making excuses, but I am telling you that we are going to get these deficiencies cleared up by the middle of the month.”
Barry Stone, assistant director of administration and operations for Student Residences, explained that his department is aware of students’ concerns and his office will be sending out regular updates to students on the progress of addressing deficiencies in the building.
“I know that may not really help at the end of the day, but we’re trying to be as open and transparent as possible,” he said.
Both Reid and Stone told students the issues of construction workers entering students’ rooms without enough notice would be addressed immediately.
“We’ll be doing that [tomorrow] morning,” Reid told students.
They also agreed students should receive some form of compensation.
Zachary Leclerc, co-president of RSAC, argued the request for a reduction in fees to the room rate of Mary Speechly Hall for the fall term may be “a little steep,” considering it would amount to close to $1,000 in reimbursement per student for a month and a half’s worth of grievances.
He explained that while RSAC feels “there is a requirement of reimbursement of some sort,” this reimbursement needs to be further discussed with university officials.
University administrators have offered students a $150 rebate for their September room fees as well as free laundry for the year.
