Furor has erupted in River Terrace recently after a slew of quality-of-life issues have surfaced, disrupting daily life for residents of the buildings. Specifically, dwellers of River Terrace have been without any heating or air conditioning for several weeks, according to several residents of 604 River Terrace and confirmed by the Office of Residential and Dining Services. The lack of air conditioning was especially an issue early in the month, when the temperature was almost unbearable and the construction right outside the building caused a serious noise disturbance to residents who were forced to keep their windows open to avoid unlivable temperatures. The lack of heat remains a serious issue as temperatures have dropped into the 30s on recent nights.
The building also had no running water for most of the day on October 9, and lacked hot water for even longer. One resident previously had their shower shut down for an entire weekend by the Division of Facilities due to leakage onto the floor below.
The elevator in River Terrace has also been a constant source of frustration for residents. While many elevators on campus are slow, the elevator in River Terrace has been observed getting stuck abnormally often. When asked about the elevator, one resident said, “As soon as I hit the button for my floor it started screaming and the doors started closing really slowly.” The elevator also occasionally has no functional interior lights, and residents have observed a floor lamp placed in the elevator in lieu of actual ceiling lights. After filing several work orders with Facilities about the elevator, one Resident Assistant was told to instruct her residents to refrain from using the elevator. There have not been any signs or other information posted publicly regarding the safety of using the elevator.
Several residents have also reported workers from Facilities coming to their rooms to work on strange work orders that neither the residents nor their Resident Assistant had filed. When asked about this phenomenon, one resident reported that a worker arrived one day to “measure her windows” and would not provide details as to why.
The Stute asked several members of the Office of Residential and Dining Services, the Office of Residential Education, and the Division of Facilities for comment. Most of them, including Resident Director Hunter Gellman and several Resident Assistants, either declined to comment or did not immediately respond. However, several days after The Stute first reached out to Residence Life for comments, those living in River Terrace were sent an email from the Office of Residential and Dining Services with detailed responses to residents’ complaints. In this email, a copy of which was obtained by The Stute, the Office claimed that they were “surprised to hear the water was not working last Tuesday,” and that the company working on repairing the heaters had shut off water in the building without notifying anyone in Residential and Dining Services. The email also stated that heat will not be restored in the building until October 25, and that residents can obtain an individual space heater from Facilities if they request one. The email did not address concerns about slowness or reliability of the elevator, but did claim that “elevator lights should all be operational.” Finally, the email stated that “The Gianforte project manager has reminded the contractor that construction hours are from 8am-6pm, Monday through Friday.” This is particularly notable as quiet hours in the building last from 10 p.m. until 10 a.m.
Additionally, Vice President for Facilities and Campus Operations Robert Maffia responded to a request for comment by stating that Facilities will be replacing the boilers in the building with new, larger-capacity units next week. Maffia also said that he would research the issues and would provide follow-up remarks next week.
Overall, residents in River Terrace have been left questioning why they must endure such disruptions to their living experience. Many students looked forward to living in the high-class suites of River when they were underclassmen, but now regret moving there. One resident, when interviewed, even stated that they were considering temporarily moving into the off-campus apartment of one of their friends until the situation in their Stevens-provided housing improved.
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