Living on a college campus can be daunting for a freshman student coming out of high school, a transfer student coming in from community college, or an international student trying to settle in a completely new environment.

The campus community, student outreach, various resources, and assistance of Resident Assistants (RA) and Residential Housing Assistants (RHA) help new students feel welcomed while transitioning to a life away from home.

However, some CSUEB student residents believe the current conditions of on-campus housing aren’t entirely perfect.

Various students have complained about the lack of proper maintenance of Area 1 (Sierra, Calaveras and Coloma Housing Halls), with wires hanging from random holes in the walls, missing appliances, faulty lightbulbs, and other maintenance issues causing concern for safety hazards.

“[These issues are] either going unheard, or take too long to be fixed,” said Clay Magbojos, a fourth-year public health major who used to live on campus. Magbojos also mentioned that they were fined for broken blinds and drawers, allegedly caused by previous tenants, even after Magbojos provided inspectors proof of them not doing it.

There are also complaints about lack of accommodation for people with disabilities.

A student with asthma had to live in a dorm that reeked of maurijuana, due to a previous resident who frequently smoked. CSUEB University Housing & Residence Life (UHRL) has strict policies against smokers on campus, although incidents, such as this, leave residents questioning if those policies are genuinely enforced.

A resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, mentioned that while living in Sequoia, another resident asked for blunt wraps in their building floor’s GroupMe chat.

Multiple ex-residents also pointed out that Calaveras and Sequoia tend to be the most odorous buildings, which was corroborated by other residents of said buildings who wished to remain anonymous.

Furthermore, the ventilation in all the buildings has remained stuffy due to the lack of renovations over the years, which has made the issues of secondhand smoke and maurijuana odors even more detrimental to the overall health of residents.

University Housing and Commercial Services director, Dr. My-Lan Huynh, was contacted for inquiry, but did not respond to an immediate request for comment.  

RA’s and RHA’s main roles are to be advocates for students who face these struggles; their only form of payment is free single-room housing and meal plans which, to some RAs who choose to remain anonymous, can feel unmotivating at times. The lack of “actual pay” for daunting tasks such as handling meticulous Incident Reports, dealing with crisis calls, and cleaning massive messes left by past residents can leave RAs feeling that their work is not fully recognized or compensated. 

Although several issues have made on-campus living a struggle, student residents still recognize various positives. Steven Holman, who resides in Coloma and is a third year majoring in psychology, noted that he loves the personal bathrooms, as opposed to less sanitary communal bathrooms that other campuses tend to have. 

Another heavily praised aspect of dorm life is the strong bond of the campus community, especially among freshmen. 

“Everyday feels like something new, whether it’s learning from my roommates’ different backgrounds, figuring out how to share a tiny fridge, or discovering that ‘quiet hours’ don’t always mean quiet,” said international freshman Kamil Ahmed. 

“There are always events happening around the halls that make it easy to meet new people, try new things, and really get involved in the community. Dorm life really is its own adventure; loud and chaotic but worth every second,” Ahmed added.    

The Dining Commons/Pioneer Kitchen (PK) also seems to be a reason for why people decide to  live on campus or work for UHRL. 

Various residents of Sequoia, Coloma, Calaveras, Sierra, and Shasta seemed to collectively agree that the quality of PK’s food is gradually improving as compared to previous years. 

They also mentioned it’s a good hangout spot after a busy day of work and classes. “The dessert section and themed decorations for holidays is always something to look forward to,” said Karma Chiguil, a freshman residing in Sequoia.

Dorming is an essential part of the college experience for a large portion of the CSUEB student body. The community bond of student residents is pristine, so it only makes sense that residents have safer and cleaner living conditions as well.