“It looks like my wall went through war,” Nicole Deng ’28 told The Daily Princetonian. “Parts of the wall had been ripped off. The paint had been ripped off.”
Students moving into New College West and Yeh College, which includes Fu Hall, Deng’s residence, have been met with chipped paint, scuff marks, and holes in their dormitory walls — damages that they say have gone largely unaddressed despite repeated work orders.
“[When] I came in [the room], I immediately saw that all the walls and all the rooms [had] a lot of holes in the paint,” Claire Mitchell ’28, a resident of NCW, told the ‘Prince.’
“It was mostly chips in the walls,” continued Mitchell. “The walls are so dirty with scuff marks.”
Anika Sekar ’28 added that “every single wall in [her] quad, both bedrooms and the common room, had significant wall damage.”
One student who resided in Yeh College over the summer noticed the same issue. Aashna Parikh ’28, who partook in the Summer Undergraduate Research Program under the Department of Molecular Biology, noticed that her walls had “holes and chips … in the paint or in the wall.”
“It was only a temporary living situation, so I didn’t report anything,” said Parikh. However, she noted that “a lot of people who are living on that floor also had similar issues.”
Courtesy of Claire Mitchell ’28
When trying to address these concerns by submitting work orders with Princeton University Facilities, many students reported having to wait close to a month for a response — if they received one at all.
Mitchell said that she “immediately put in a work order that same day” and got a response saying that it would be done by the next week.” However, according to Mitchell, it has taken Facilities almost a month to respond, even after Mitchell and her roommates put in multiple work orders.
“[The holes] got filled a week ago,” Mitchell added. “I think we sent in three work orders.”
Sekar and her roommates faced a similar situation, despite filing their request when they moved in at the end of August.
“Facilities finally emailed us back and came to paint at the end of September,” Sekar explained.
Deng, on the other hand, is still waiting on repairs. “The marks are still on the wall, so I don’t think they’ve sent anyone to help with the wall yet,” she said.
Courtesy of Claire Mitchell ’28
In response to concerns about delays, Ahmad Rizvi, a media representative for Facilities, said in a statement that rooms that have been occupied for much of the summer leave “insufficient time to complete repairs needed.” The new colleges host a number of programs over the summer, including the Freshman Scholars Institute, summer sports camps, and students conducting research.
“We will be working to mitigate this in the future,” Rizvi said, adding that “repairs should be completed within 30 days in most cases.”
“Major damage from a flood or building emergency would have a more immediate response with repairs starting after completion of any potential remediation,” continued Rizvi.
Meanwhile, students are trying to cover up the damage their own way.
“I have a lot of posters and paintings that I’ve strategically placed so that all the damage is hidden,” said Steven Hergenrother ’28. “The only way I could really cover [the damage] was with posters.”
“There was black sticky foam that we couldn’t remove [that was] stuck to the walls, as well as large chips in the paint,” Sekar said. “It was very prominent and we had a hard time trying to cover it up.”
Students remarked that faster response and greater communication would be helpful. “I totally understand Facilities get[s] a lot of work orders,” said Deng. “But I would appreciate a notice [like] ‘we’re going to get to your work order.’”
“I think [Facilities’] response could have been more timely, considering we had to wait a month before they came to fix it, and we weren’t sure if they were going to come at all,” Sekar added.
According to Rizvi, Facilities are working to improve efficiency with a new work order system.
In the meantime, Rizvi asks that “the students use adhesive mounts that do not damage the wall surface upon removal.”
Eojin Park is an assistant News editor for the ‘Prince.’ She typically covers University operations and the town of Princeton.
Nora Linssen is a News contributor and Archives contributor for the ‘Prince.’ She is from Boston, Mass. and can be reached at nl5023[at]princeton.edu.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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