April 20, 2015
Evan Musick
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Complaints about The Lodges continue as excessive partying, dirty halls and poor interior quality plague its student tenants.
The Lodges opened before the school year began, and although amenities include computer labs, a heated pool and areas to exercise, residents still have their complaints.
Mykinthia Ebron, junior communication major, said that while it is a nice place to live, the maintenance of the apartment complex could be improved.
“The Lodges is a great place to live first of all, I’m not bashing the management or anybody in that point. I believe there could be a little more upkeep,” she said.“I just don’t feel they were quite sure what they were getting themselves into when they decided to build student housing.”
Ebron said that she is OK with the partying, but when it comes to the messes in the halls it becomes an issue. When beer cans are left, signs are torn down and fi re extinguishers are set off in the hallway, she and other residents become concerned.
According to Ebron, there have been multiple calls to security regarding sexual assault, alcohol usage and alcohol overdose.
“It just gets crazy,” she said.
Ebron said she was excited when she first moved in, but when she did, there was already damage.
“When we moved in, there were scrapes on the wall already,” she said.
The paint on the walls appeared to be low quality and work was rushed, according to Ebron.
“They used a very cheap paint, it’s almost like a matte finish, to where I’ve worn jeans and leaned against the wall, and there’s blue on my wall because of my jeans. It shouldn’t be that way,” she said.
Ebrom also recalled that on the day she moved in, the caulking around her bathtub and neighbor’s bathtub was still wet.
To her, it appeared as though The Lodges were trying to get as much money from the students as possible. She also fears that when she moves out, she will be charged for damages she had no control over.
Currently, Ebrom shares a four bedroom, furnished apartment with three other roommates. Each pays $634 a month.
Maya Hayes, junior accounting major, owns a one bedroom apartment and pays $985 per month. She is expecting her rent to be raised to $1,021 if she re-signs her 12-month lease.
“It’s way too much, as far as the price, for how much space there is in there. I don’t even have storage in there,” she said.
The only closet that is available is mostly taken up by the washer and dryer, she said.
She also recalled that when tenants first moved in, there were no screens on the windows. Her balcony door was also installed improperly and it took months to fix.
Along with these issues, Hayes mentioned that signs on her floor that gave directions to different rooms are no longer there, and have been gone for months. She said she does not feel safe because of this, as she believes that in an emergency, responders would not know where to go.
Security at The Lodges is also low. Hayes recalled a party that occurred on her floor, and someone tried to enter her apartment.
Hayes would not refer anyone to live at The Lodges.
“I really don’t like it at all. I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody,” she said.
Charlotte Gilner, senior international business major, believes the appliances are great for what she is paying. But she still is annoyed by some of the parties and thinks corners were cut.
“You can hear wherever your upstairs neighbor is, all the time. You can hear where they’re walking. It’s absolutely ridiculous,” she said.
Gilner also believes that the staff is inexperienced because many of them are students. She is frustrated that management, who she also said are inexperienced, is asking her to renew her lease two months before it is expired.
Security is also an issue for Gilner.
“My apartment got broken into within the first two weeks of living there,” she said.
Gilner came home from a party one night to find four older males in her apartment, looking around.
“It was scary as hell. I live by myself,” she said.
According to Gilner, although security used to be present, it’s no longer there and hasn’t been present at all this semester. When she had her apartment broken into, the security that was there at the time didn’t take much action.
“They didn’t even go tell the cops, they just said ‘lock your door,’” she said.
Gilner said that despite the other problems, the partying has died down.
“Nothing can compare to how it was in the beginning. This semester hasn’t been really that bad,” she said.
A response from The Lodges’ management team was not available at press time.