RIT Residence Halls: Criticized by Students, Upheld by Faculty

Students at the Rochester Institute of Technology have had several complaints regarding on-campus residence halls. Between strict codes and seemingly inadequate service, some students seem to be fed up with dorm life.

RIT's residence halls hold house over 3,400 students. Incoming freshmen to the university are obligated to live in the residence halls for their first year. They're paying an average of $4600 per semester for a 10 foot by 18 foot room of their own (and generally one other). This is on top of the minimum of $2800 that first year students are forced to spend on a meal plan, providing access to several on-campus restaurants and food courts.

With prices like these it's clear to see why students would expect more for their money. Mark Johnson, a first year student and dormer thought against a newly introduced policy disallowing students from using bunk beds. "I would like to bunk so that I can use the space better," said Johnson. This was compounded on top of an odd dorm layout problem he's been forced to live with. "The way the door is situated has caused the closet to be in an unfortunate position where it's hard to utilize the space," claimed Johnson.

RIT's residence halls have a particularly stringent fire code policy, disallowing dormers to operate space heaters, toaster ovens, extension cords, and anything with an open flame. Skyler Clark, a third year software engineering student had particularly strong feedback about the fire code when officials took her floor's communal toaster oven away: "That toaster oven was the thin line between me and despair. Without it, the only option to eat after the dining halls close is packaged depression," This is a problem many RIT students face, as most on-campus shops and restaurants close around 8:00 PM, and with students' long work hours and variable schedules, this may not work out for everyone. "Without it, my only option is limp, reheated freezer food." said Clark, "I've been reduced to living on slime and cellophane. It's killing me."

John Moore, Associate Vice President of Facilities Management Services for RIT commented on these complaints, claiming "It seems stupid to people, it seems trivial, like why can't I burn a candle?" commented Moore, "Well, it takes one kid who's got a birthday cake who blows out the candles, throws the candles in the trash can, the candle smolders, it lights the paper, and boom! It seems like nothing, but it only takes nothing."

This strict adherence to code doesn't only apply to residence halls. Facilities Management does maintenance, cleaning, and electrical work for academic and residential buildings alike. In all applications, they have to adhere to state and nationwide policy.

Code isn't the only thing in FMS' way; the buildings themselves provide several constraints and safety issues in and of themselves. Students may complain that their dorms don't have air conditioning, but this only applies to the low rise buildings, as they were built in the late 1960s and weren't designed for air conditioning, presenting a slew of problems and constraints to work around if it were to be put in.

If students have a complaint regarding RIT dorms, they can file a work order or leave a complaint directly with FMS on their website. However, it seems like students aren't taking advantage of this opportunity.

"There was a survey that Student Government did about the elevators, with complaints like 'I got stuck in it six times' and this and that" Moore claimed "So I came back to our work order system where people would have logged work orders about the elevators and there were none."

This lack of reporting isn't only localized to the elevators. "There was a hot water problem in Baker that went on for a while because no one ever told us," claimed Moore, "Apparently students were complaining about it on Reddit, but no one told me!"

At the end of the day, these codes are here for everyone's safety. They don't unfairly target students and FMS has systems in place to help with any issues students may have. "You could knock the building down, I don't care. I care about the people that are in it." remarked Moore, "I can build a new building. I can't build those people."

(Originally written 11/12/19; Uploaded 12/6/19)