Anna Voskuil | News Editor
Featured Image: What can be done to improve building maintenance at York? | Hanad Adan
A recent Reddit post features a photograph of a visibly worn-down and leaking lecture hall ceiling entitled, “Raining in Lassonde B.” Scrolling through the website, one can see comments similar to “it’s another day at York,” litter the page from top to bottom.
This, however, is not an isolated situation. Notably, another online post includes a picture of large buckets and a yellow caution sign on the floor of Scott Library during the recent strike, which is claimed to be the result of “a leaky roof.”
To some, building maintenance issues may appear commonplace at York—merely another part of ‘getting York’d,’ as several students put it—however, to many others, this is becoming a growing concern.
“The toilets, which are constantly overflowing with water, soak the floor in several of the women’s bathrooms—Vanier College and the old Student Centre, specifically,” says Erin Hooper, a second-year social work student.
Mike Roberts, a fourth-year anthropology and history student, expresses: “Not much is being done,” in terms of an overall upkeep of maintenance.
“What really bothers me is the investment being made in certain areas at the expense of others,” Roberts says.
Further, a number of students express why many expect this level of lackadaisical maintenance on campus.
Roberts adds: “My impression is that a lot of people at York are used to being treated badly, and assume that there is no expectation the university should provide basic services such as furniture, window-cleaning, and other maintenance.
“I think in a lot of ways it’s a class issue—a lot of students are from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and have always coped with similar problems.”
In York’s Financial Statements report, which provides a summary of revenue and expenses as of April 30, operation service expenses totalled to about 14.5 per cent of overall expenses, which is roughly $154.9 million.
From the Statement, it is noted that: “Investment income from operating funds increased to $13 million (compared to $11 million from the 2016 to 2017 school year), largely the result of more favourable short-term interest rates.
“The university follows the deferral method for accounting for investment income on external endowments, and recognizes investment income in the Statement of Operations as related expenses are incurred,” according to the Statement.
Comparably, the university has put in much to budget for completed and current building projects: $70 million for the Life Sciences Building, $100 million for the Bergeron Centre of Engineering Excellence, and $72 million for the New Student Centre.
However, Roberts critiques the current use of the new Student Centre, which he claims appears to be more suitable as an office space, rather than a student space.
Despite an apparent lack of concern by the administration, a number of students still see potential solutions to the improvement of overall maintenance on campus.
For example, Roberts suggests: “I think the only solution is better governance and a genuine effort to build a community here, rather than just running a tuition-and-fast-food racket.”
