Dear Residents,
Housing and Residence Life has heard the dormitory living concerns from on-Grounds residents loudly and clearly over the past several months, and we are writing to provide you with an start-of-semester update on the effective steps we took to respond to these reports last semester.
In collaboration with Facilities Management and HRL staff, we have investigated all complaints in great depth.
Internal investigations by HRL found all reported cases to simply be dispersed throughout individual residence halls rather than widespread across Grounds. Action was taken with the utmost urgency, with a majority of cases resolved to our high, high standards after a minimum of two months. We thank the residents for practically constant — to an annoying level — reminder of their issues, as it certainly did speed up our response time.
After the resolution of all problems, we have confirmed without error that there is no evidence that any of these cases were at the fault of the University and have stemmed from the activities of the actions of certain residents. These individuals have been identified and taught to do better, but will remain anonymous. Without a doubt they do exist, and we recommend all residents that wish to live in functional and clean on-Grounds housing do not follow their poor example.
While we do recognize that there is no way to eliminate all facility issues that arise on Grounds, there are steps that we highly suggest students take in order to keep future issues under control and unreported. Our website contains specific information about how to maintain cleanliness throughout dormitory spaces so that residents such as yourself can avoid burdening HRL and FM staff members with minor and trivial issues that could be resolved by your hand without wasting the time of others, specifically us. These steps include —
- Not storing wet clothing within your room. Laundry rooms serve a purpose, so we recommend you utilize them to your utmost abilities and if the machines are out of service you should find another way to dry your clothes, such as hanging them clothesline style.
- Keeping sources of moisture away from HVAC units. The best way to abide by this tip is to refrain from entering your dorm room with any liquid of any kind, which includes but is not limited to carbonated soda, tea, coffee, water and external blood.
- Cleaning regularly. We understand that upkeep can be difficult for students in the face of rigorous classes, mental stress and more, but we believe you lie in the bed you make — literally — and earn no right to complain when faced with consequences of your own creation.
All those that devotedly and religiously serve the sacred HRL are well aware that while we have confirmed all cases to be resolved, some pestiferous students are still raising concerns due to their high standards of satisfaction. In light of this childish behavior and desire for stable cooperation between staff and students, we have consolidated how the three main concerns were solved throughout the semester below.
- Mold and mildew — First-year dormitories have been the main subject regarding the presence of mold and mildew throughout the semester, and rest assured, the University has not discovered any more ongoing issues to this date. In addition, claims of residents that they suffered health and respiratory distress due to the mold and mildew have been investigated by HRL with care, and we have found their illness to be non-housing related and therefore not our problem. Any more prank reports regarding mold have been discarded by FM as all future issues have been decided by us to be nonexistent.
- Hot water — Notably, inhabitants of Brown Residential College have reported a barrage of work orders referring to recurring issues with hot water since the beginning of the semester. Due to the contradictions on the part of the students, this issue has been more difficult to deal with since we cannot be bothered to consider the feelings of residents in a timely manner. At the semester’s beginning, the dormitory's hot water system was replaced with a much more financially advantageous steam system, which we have concluded was not the source of issues despite it being the only change within the dorm.
- Pest removal — A resident of Woody-Cauthen reported that they had seen a venomous snake in their dormitory lobby, and this claim was investigated and confirmed to be accurate. Seeing as the snake came from the outside, we concluded that it was the responsibility of resident advisor staff to deal with its removal and the costs of pest control. The wasp infestation has also been dealt with by opening windows on said invaded floor, and we will consider no other subsequent actions to be necessary at this time. Any other pests should be reported to RAs and not submitted as work orders as the upper HRL and FM staff have more important matters to deal with.
We are bound as barely paid employees to maintain high-quality on-Grounds housing and to respond to any issues with the utmost speed. While we, as staff, may not all live in your residence halls, we understand you want to live very comfortably. Please don’t contact us at housing@virginia.edu if you have additional questions.
With love,
U.Va. Housing & Residence Life
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