Give me an explanation, that’s all I’m asking for. We, the students of MSU, deserve a reply from whomever is turning this university into a business.

Several days ago, an associate of mine was washing his face in his residence hall room’s sink. Unfortunately he was wearing contacts - for when he turned on his faucet, valves in the boiler room malfunctioned and released scalding water throughout the plumbing system of McDonel Hall. Fortunately he was not badly burned, but damaged the side of his face and melted his contact to his cornea.

Wrong place at the wrong time, you say? That’s what I thought too, but these events had been happening all week. People have been burned and injured because of a simple explanation. MSU officials have neglected the simple ideal that universities are institutions of learning, not businesses, where glorified union bathrooms have sanitized water, peach-scented soap and marble countertops. Enough is enough. Our faucets are busted, our futons are broken and our carpets smell. We live in filthy dorms, where standards have been compromised in the wake of alumni conference rooms and university beautification programs. Stop catering to money, and start fulfilling the basic requirements of providing acceptable dorms where students can learn.

Aaron Sheridan
public policy junior