The University of Guam’s Residence Halls still face ongoing issues concerning its financial and safety conditions.
A commitment was made by the Good to Great, or G2G, initiative in 2014 to provide $250,000 a year for five years into the dorms with the intent of making the facilities more liveable. Director of Residence Halls Jonathan Triplett, however, states that these funds are not enough.
The Issue with Finance
Triplett, has experience working 16 years in dorm management in the states and has now been with UOG for two years, strongly believes that immediate renovations and repairs are needed to improve the conditions of the facility and are only possible if enough funds are provided.
“There needs to be an understanding of what’s important and we need more support of the campus dorms,” Triplett said. “As of right now, we only receive funding based off of what we receive from students renting the dorms.”
According to Triplett, UOG gets money from GovGuam, but its dormitory facility does not get any, leaving funds in the negative. The facility does not receive enough to fully renovate itself or to self sustain and has to pay for costs using a limited pool of money. The dormitories must then operate and manage off what they generate from their rentals.
“Right now, [for example] if I spent a lot of money making money and upgrades, a lot of those renovations and upgrades should’ve come from the plant maintenance department budget as they maintain all the other buildings,” Triplett said. “The dorms are a part of the University’s campus but we spend a lot to do our own things to keep it upgraded. At the end of the day, it takes away from our operational budget. So those are the main things that we’re still facing.”
In a recent experience, Triplett had activities and events planned for the dorm residents so they didn’t have to spend their spring break, bored inside of their dorm rooms. About 60 students signed up for a day of activities which required about $1,500 total to run. The proposal, however, was rejected due to funding sources. Triplett’s only quick solution was to spend $300 out of his own pocket to ensure that the students that signed up will still be able to have their day of activities and bus transportation.
“We can’t stop our events and activities with only two months to go into the school year.” Triplett said. “Most local students can go home but the students here can’t. They must be bored.”
As of right now, Triplett is still trying to find solutions regarding the dormitory’s finances.
Safety and Security
Safety and security at the dorms are also of concern. The dorms do not have functioning doors and lacks adequate lighting at night.
Currently, doors in all the lobbies of the dorms are open for anyone to come in and the campus does not have sufficient street lighting in the event that residents have night classes or want to go off campus.
Vice President of Administration and Finance Randall Weigand echoes concerns regarding the lack of safety when it comes to dorm residents.
Weigand said he has been trying to make changes with safety issues at the dormitory ever since he first began working with the University, but progress has been a slow process.
“We have a lot of issues with doors sticking and not closing all the way,” Weigand said. “Anyone can come into the facility and it is a safety risk we’re trying to deal with.”
Weigand has also tried to install sensors on doors and windows as an alternative.
Business Admin major Nathaniel Moses has been a resident of the UOG dormitory for three years (2016 to present) and has experienced living in the dorms for one year in 2011, prior to Triplett’s arrival. According to Moses, the conditions at the dormitory were substantially different compared to its current state.
Although certain renovations have been made over the years, Moses said there is only one functioning washing machine and dryer that do not always work. When they do break down, it takes some time for them to be repaired.
“We have an old washing machine so usually the parts they need have to be shipped,” Moses shared. “In that case, we either just go off campus to wash and dry our clothes or just wait.”
Triplett is continuously working to improve the facility. Just recently, a new cafeteria was built for the residents along with available meal plans. Students no longer have to walk long distances, to off-campus restaurants such as Ron’s Diner. A convenience store was also recently built for additional food access.
Triplett said: “Students had to fend for themselves, find whatever to eat, and cook in ratty kitchens that we had, which if the Health Department came and took a look at it, would have shut them down. It was disgusting.”
Dormitory bedrooms, showers, and bathrooms have slowly undergone renovations as Triplett continuously works floor by floor to repair dirty tile floors in the bathrooms, leaking air-conditioning units, and worn out and stained mattresses. A majority of the repairs made hadn’t been taken care of for years until Triplett arrived at the University.
Solutions for a better dorm facility
The University of Guam Residence Halls has undergone substantial improvements over the past three years and continues to do so as plans for a newer, more updated facility are in the works.
Jonathan Triplett, director of the Residence Halls, has contributed to improving life at the dorms. Bathrooms, showers, study hall area, and the TV lounge were key areas in the Residence Halls that were re-furnished and renovated as students now have access to a cleaner facility. In the Iya-hami Hall, the dorms on the second floor have been renovated. In the first and second floors of the Guma’ta Hall, upgrades such as newly carpeted floors, painted rooms, and new mattresses have been included.
Triplett states: “It’s important if a student is comfortable and happy with their living environment. That’s a better student we’re sending across the street to the classroom. It all has to do with student retention.”
Health science major Clarlyn Lekka, who has resided in the dorms since Spring 2014, has seen the condition of the facility improved since Triplett arrived to UOG in 2016.
“Back then, this room [TV lounge] was dull. There were green drapes and wooden couches that were uncomfortable to even sit on,” Lekka stated. “When Tripett came, he made the environment feel more homey and comfortable. He goes above and beyond for the residents.”
Triplett continues to renovate the remaining areas that require immediate attention. Triplett had just finished renovating the bathrooms for boys and girls on the first floor and will be moving onto to further renovations on the higher floors, on both wings of the Residence Halls.
“When he’s done with one thing, he immediately jumps to another,” Lekka states.
Solutions towards safety
As the university hopes to improve its facility, such changes should not be expected to happen overnight.
According to UOG’s Safety Administrator Felix Mansapit, a key card system to assist with the security of the dorms has been in the works even before Triplett had arrived but has been delayed due to financial constraints. The key card method is a possible solution for the dorm residents in which they must be swipe or scan a key card to access the Residence Halls lobby and dorms. The purpose of the key card system is to eliminate potential intruders from entering the buildings.
Mansapit stated: “The key card system would cost over $150,000 and we don’t have enough money for that. Most of our facilities are starting to deteriorate with the financial strap we’re in.”
Vice President of Administration and Finance Randall Weigand has also been aiming to figure out a workable system for dorm security. Currently, the doors at the Residence Halls are wide open and enable strangers to easy access the facility.
Weigand shared: “We have a lot of issues with doors sticking, someone comes in and it wouldn’t close all the way. It’s a safety risk we’re trying to deal with.”
Triplett and Weigand aim to have sensors on doors and windows in the event of a door not latching for more than ten seconds, an alarm would go off.
“We’re at an early stage of this. We’ve been talking about this for a while and it’s been hard to get the project going however, we finally got issues a contract to help us with project management to figure out a workable system for dorm facility,” Weigand shares.
In addition, due to the previous lack of meals available within a short walking distance from the dorms, students had to face the dangers of walking through inadequate lighting at night just to get to Ron’s Diner or the nearest convenience store.
“The one thing I complained a lot was going to the store because it was far,” Lekka stated. “At night when I needed to buy something, I had to walk all the way out to the store and it was very dark but at least now it’s more convenient because we have a store in the first building.”
The Residence Halls now have their very own Triton Express convenience store located on the first floor of Dorm I. In addition, students now have their own cafeteria along with meal plans.
“After school, I’m so tired and I don’t feel like cooking so the cafeteria has been really convenient,” Lekka shared.
Mansapit has been trying to implement new cameras in the facility but financial constraints, yet again, put its upgrades to a halt.
“I’ve been trying to install new cameras into the facility since 2012 but it would cost us $65,000. It’s a great thing to have, but financial constraints don’t allow us to do that. The next best thing we do is to make sure that we have people trained to stop any suspicious activity,” Mansapit shared.
Beneficial Limitations
On New Years of 2016, a dorm resident along with five other of her guy friends were roaming the halls, intoxicated until 3AM. What seemed to be a fun celebration of the new year, turned into a girl’s worst nightmare. That is when Mansapit got a call in which the girl claimed she was raped.
The rapist was supposedly her boyfriend. After the incident, the girl moved back to the mainland and because she never pursued the case to court, the charges against the rapist were dropped.
As various incidents would happen at the Residence Halls concerning the abuse of alcohol use, UOG is now a campus free university. Punishments are inflicted on those that do not abide by the rules.
“My security group is instructed that in the event that alcohol is found, the first thing they do is to card the person (if they’re 21 or not). If they’re not 21 years of age, GPD is called,” Mansapit shared.
It is common for college dorm residents have a mindset that just because they’re adults, they can do anything. UOG, however, has policies that must be followed and if disobeyed, students will get in trouble with the law and may possibly face expulsion.
Mansapit stated: “It’s sad because I see people doing their undergraduate work and three months left until graduation, they mess up and lose their chance to graduate.”
A vision for the future
Unlike previous years, the dorm residents are kept occupied with various activities and weekend trips to help them avoid turning to damaging “activities.” Triplett has taken residents on various trips to the beach, Tumon, and organized for a shuttle bus to transport students who are unable to drive.
Mansapit stated: “If drinking is going to get you into trouble, then don’t drink. There’s alternatives. I think a lot of the reasons why dorm residents were going and getting into trouble was because they didn’t really have much activities outside of just school itself.”
Along with fun activities for the residents, renovations are included into future projects. Because the Residence Halls do not have a specific facility to accommodate its international students, UOG has its plans of constructing a new 300- bed dormitory.
There are about 6,000 students every year from Japan, South Korea, and other parts of Asia that come to UOG to learn English under the English Adventure Program. Instead of residing at the university’s dormitory, the students must stay in hotels and be bussed back and forth.
Weigand shared: “We feel like we can save the bussing costs and give them a true ‘on campus’ experience if we build the new dorms.
A new student center is also in the works as Weigand plans to construct a coffee shop that will open at 6AM and on the weekends so dorm residents have a wide selection of warm food.
As UOG’s Residence Halls continue its ongoing renovations, residents have much to look forward to.
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