Durand sophomore Brett Warner and Free Soil sophomore Justin Papes live in the same Thorpe Hall room as last year.

But when they moved in this year, they found a surprise: damages they paid fines for were unfixed.

Warner first noticed it when he was moving back into his room, he said.

“I looked at the damages as soon as I walked in the door,” said Papes, who was curious to see if the damages were repaired. “We had to pay for the ceiling light cover and about four tiles on the ceiling in the living area.”

In addition to those damages, Papes and Warner paid for paint damages done to the wall in the living area.

The ceiling tile fines were $34.50 in total; split between the four roommates, they each paid $8.62. Papes and Warner split the fine with their other two roommates since this damage was not caused by anyone living in the room at the time.

They also split the paint damages done in the living area, which totaled $1.25 for each resident.

“I find it ridiculous, because if we paid for it to be replaced, why wouldn’t they replace it?” Papes said.

Where is the money going?

The charges were put on the students’ Central Michigan University accounts, and they were required to pay by the next billing cycle. However, if Papes and Warner did not pay for the fines, it would hinder them to schedule classes for the 2009-10 school year.

“We’d charge you what it would cost us to get a replacement to put back in that room for the next student to have use,” said Shaun Holtgreive, associate director of Residence Life.

The light cover in Papes’ and Warner’s room was fixed five days after Central Michigan Life spoke with Holtgreive.

“I was quite shocked when they fixed it,” Papes said.

Building maintenance workers look at rooms to estimate the prices of material and how long it would take to fix the damaged area. There are set prices for most things based on the cost to replace or fix them, Holtgreive said.

Students may appeal the damages with their hall director or assistant director. However, if it is believed the students appealing are still responsible, it is their financial obligation to pay the university, Holtgreive said.

In most cases, Residence Life purchases furniture replacements and materials to fix damages in bulk quantities. Holtgreive said buying in bulk means better pricing rather than individual purchases.

“Damage to a light, a chair or a desk, we will replace or fix right away,” Holtgreive said.

E-mail the author: Amelia Eramya