Having your own personal space during college can be hard to find sometimes, especially at a university such as Central Michigan.

At times, it can seem like the campus is overcrowded and there is not enough room for students to call their own. The small space that students do receive should be kept and maintained.

It is not only up to the students though; the university has a responsibility to upkeep maintenance, especially when students are fined.

Recently, students who lived in Thorpe Hall came back and found damages in their residence halls were not fixed over the summer. The students said they already paid for the damages, but did not receive the maintenance. Some of the damages included tiles, a ceiling light cover and wall paint.

In total, they did not cost much and was charged to the students CMU accounts.

Students are expected to pay for damages when they move out of a residence hall or an apartment, ensuring the next person who moves in can start with a clean slate. It encourages students to take care of the university’s residence hall rooms, since their time there is limited. This is a good system to ensure the upkeep of residential halls on campus.

But the system fails when the university neglects its duties. It looks bad on the university’s part to take from students without giving anything back, especially when room and board is already expensive.

It is understandable that maintenance is busy, especially with the academic year just starting. But if the university is going to be strict on fines and force students to pay them back in a timely manner, then maintenance should be held to the same standard and act just as quick.

If CMU is busy and renovations will take sometime, then students should not be required to pay fines until the repairs can be made. The amount of time between the issuing of the fine and the upkeep of the living space should be as small as possible.

Hopefully, CMU will enforce its policy on fines and maintenance so they are more cohesive. Students also should be as careful as possible, so fines are not issued in the first place.

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