Unexpected surprise welcomes student back from break

By Marina Sanford

BELLEVILLE, Ont. (16/01/12) - Laine Sedore was not impressed to find a leak in his ceilling when he returned from his break on Friday, January 6, 2012. The third year journalism online print broadcast student finally has dry feet, and the leak has been repaired, but he still has concerns over why it leaked in the first place, and whether it will happen again. Photo by Marina Sanford.

An unpleasant surprise was waiting for Loyalist student Laine Sedore when he returned from holidays on Jan. 6.

The third-year journalism – online print and broadcast student came back to find a leaking ceiling, and a soaked carpet in his basement room in the new residence building.

His roommates had earlier discovered a dehumidifier running in his bedroom.  They went down to the residence commons building, where the managing staff have offices, and were told there had been a leak.

The damage was discovered during routine room inspections over the break, according to Dominique Dawes, the residence programming assistant, and a dehumidifier was placed in the room immediately.

Chris Carson, the commons manager, said staff didn’t notify Sedore because he wasn’t in residence at the time.

Sedore had to lay cardboard on the floor to avoid soaking his feet until the water was gone, then sprayed Lysol when the carpet started to smell, and he hadn’t heard back from staff about repairs.

Sedore said he went to talk to Dawes on Jan. 9 and was told he was going to be emailed the process to follow to get the damage repaired. But there was no response until the repairman showed up Monday morning, he said.

When asked, the repairman for Campus Living Centres, the company that rents the properties out to students, said they always try to provide good service.

“We try to do things as best we can, with the least amount of inconvenience possible to the students,” said the repairman, who asked he not be named.

The main reason it’s taken this long for the repairs, he said, is because of the bad weather.

As for the damage itself, he said, it’s like any new building.

“I’ve worked on buildings that are nine years old, and we’re still finding things.”

He said he advises students to bring these problems to someone who can then contact Campus Living Centres, adding that “most of these kids will never see a bill.”

Carson said the process at the moment is for the students with complaints to come in and fill out a work request form. The college will do small repairs and maintenance such as replacing light bulbs and blown fuses. They will also assess damage and determine if Campus Living Centres needs to be contacted. They are working on getting direct contact for students next year, said Carson.

Chris Haze, director of residence operations at CLC, was unable for questions but responded in an email saying he was aware of a situation with a student at the college.

“Our facilities person has repaired the connection that was causing the leak, as well as repaired the cosmetic damage to the unit,” Haze wrote.

“He’ll be back on Wednesday to finish the paint, and I hope that’s the end of it,” said Sedore.