Dear Editor,
Some one really needs to take a stand on this campus. I can’t believe that a clock tower and plasma television sets for the campus coffee shop are more important than the safety of students at this school. I am of course talking about the article discussing the renovations to the Culp Center and whoever had the bright idea of blowing money to put in “wide screen plasma TVs” when the TVs that are currently in the Cave work just fine.
The article talked about “improving the aesthetics” of the Culp Center when there is a real safety issue with another building on campus. I am talking about the Department of Art and Design and its home, Ball Hall.
Last fall a friend of mine fell though the drain grates outside of Ball and cut up her legs and thighs so bad that she spent the night in the emergency room getting stitches and antibiotics.
The stairs in the building are falling apart. Many people slip coming down them and a pregnant woman almost found herself falling stomach first a couple of weeks ago.
Then there is the crack that was running from the sidewalk, all the way up the side of the building that someone from maintenance said was a result of “the building just settling in”… but that doesn’t really explain why the crack ran from the top of the building and across the solid earth to the sidewalk, unless of course the ground is “settling in” as well.
The complaints abut the condition of Ball Hall have been piling up for a while now and so many people are concerned that we are now spending money on “wide screen plasma TVs” instead of tending to the safety of the students in our art program.
I honestly believe that nothing will come of all this until someone sues the pants off this school for getting hurt. Maybe then someone somewhere will listen. Of course by then it may be too late for the person who suffers life long pain or maybe even polarization because someone wanted a clock tower and new television sets.
As a fees-paying student, I believe we all have a right to know why it is better to buy television sets than fix the real problems at this school.
We need to know exactly who to name in the lawsuit when one gets filed for serious injuries.
James Villanueva

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