Dear President Witt,
The purpose of this letter is to address aesthetic and maintenance of Paty Hall . Paty Hall has been established as an all male dorm since it opened its doors in 1962. It has undergone numerous renovations throughout the years and was even used as the University of Alabama’s only 24-hour dining hall. The few remaining services that are still intact include: living quarters for up to 450 men, a large computer lab downstairs, and the Paty package center. While there are many memories that have been made there, it is time for the University to tear down and rebuild a new Paty Hall.
One of the major problems with Paty is its constant deterioration; the building has become obsolete and the major renovations that are necessary prove it. The building is currently forty-seven years old and any resident can tell you it looks every bit as old as it is. It is an archaic building that no longer fits the portrayal that the University of Alabama wants to have for its residence halls. Many of the immovable furnishings in the dorm rooms look like they have not been replaced in decades. The sinks are chipped, and the dressers are so old that it is hard to pull the drawers out without making a tremendous amount of noise. The closet doors are so severely damaged that it appears that they have taken a thorough beating. If a resident, is lucky the worst thing about their closet is that the wood is chipping away. Many residents have had to deal with holes that have been punched into the wood and dented metal handles. The doors that have holes in them should be replaced, but are not. Instead, they are simply covered up by another thin piece of wood that is screwed on to cover the worst of the damage.
The ceilings in Paty Hall are decaying and are made of material that will occasionally flake down upon unsuspecting students. Many of the doors in Paty Hall are warped and no longer fit into their respective doorframes. Whenever a resident unlocks their door to their room they have to push and nudge the door in order to open it. Also, when incoming freshmen visit their dorms for the first time, they often claim that their rooms smell bad, and that their leaking air conditioning unit causes mold to form on the carpet below. These kinds of damages are not only unacceptable, but are also hazardous to students’ health, considering the lung damage that can transpire from having mold in the dorm rooms. Having continued renovations on Paty Hall would be a wasteful investment for the University.
Safety and sanitation are both major concerns residences have in Paty Hall. One complaint many residents have reported is the finding of cockroaches in their dorm rooms. Cockroaches can carry diseases and can be detrimental to the students well being and comfort level. Another common complaint of Paty residents is the bathroom. While it is often not preferred to have a community restroom, most people can deal with having to use them. Community showers at Paty Hall however, are often unsanitary and will remain so for days, despite having janitorial cleanings. The showers are not comfortable because of the constant change in water temperature; this change is caused every time someone flushes a toilet. Another major problem with the showers at Paty Hall is that if too many showers are running at one time, the steam will set off the fire alarm. This will often happen in the middle of the night, forcing the sleeping residents to evacuate the building and lose vital hours of sleep. The fire alarm has gone off so many times at Paty Hall that the firemen do not rush into the building anymore, because they assume that it is yet another false alarm. A major problem could occur if there were a real fire, because the fire department would be use to the frequent false alarms and may not react suitably. All of these problems can be fixed if the University of Alabama simply rebuilds Paty Hall. It has been renovating and fixing up the extremely old building for years now and it is necessary that Paty Hall be rebuilt.
The location of Paty Hall sits in the shadow of the new and very modern dorm halls such as Lakeside, Ridgecrest, and even the Blount Living-Learning Center. All of these buildings are what the University of Alabama wants the new freshman to think of when they are considering where to live on campus. Since freshmen are required to live on campus, their choices are limited to the dorm halls. When offered the choice between the new and modern dorm halls and Paty Hall, many students will often make Paty Hall their last possible choice despite the price difference.
Although Paty Hall has had a long and rich history on the University of Alabama’s campus, it is imperative that it be torn down and rebuilt so it can fit in with its surrounding new and modern age residence halls. It has become futile to spend money on refurbishments in Paty Hall that have done little to improve the overall building as UA has done for the past several years. Instead, Paty should be reborn as a new residence hall that is the epitome of on-campus housing equal to that of Lakeside and Riverside. UA is a very prestigious university and it is a shame that some of the residence halls like Paty Hall do not reflect those of one. The modern age is moving fast and the University of Alabama must modernize Paty Hall in order to move with it.
Sincerely,
Capstone Comments
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