Securitydeposits:assessingdamages

by Mirella Addesi managing/copy Editor

Prior to registering for housing, all students wishing to live on campus are required to pay a $250 room reservation/security deposit.

The deposit insures a room for that student until after the first week of school. It will also be used to cover any residence hall damages that may occur throughout the year.

The unused balance will be refunded at the end of the year or will it?

Though the deposit amount paid is the same for every resident, some get back more at the end of the year, some less and some none at all.

The procedure used to determine the amount of money returned is unclear to many residents.

When moving into their buildings, each and every resident is required to sign a room condition report (RCR). These reports are filled out by the resident assistants and list all of the existing damages prior to resident check-in.

According to Laura Irwin, assistant director of resident life, there are standard procedures which are followed when assessing charges for any damages at the end of the year.

"After graduation, physical plant, resident life and housekeeping walk around and we look at the conditions of the buildings," Irwin said.

"We write down anything and everything that we see.

Cathy Caulfield [director of resident life] and I go through the lists to verify that they are the same. Then we sit down

News from the Office of Cooperative Education and Career Services

The Office of Cooperative Education and Career Services would like to wish everyone a wonderful 1996-1997.

Co-op job opportunities are now available for students' review for fall placements. Act quickly; 318 salaried positions are waiting to be filled.

The Resume Expert System's pre-formatted disk can be purchased for $22.95 in the Cabrini College bookstore enabling students to produce professional,_typeset quality resumes; providing graduating seniors with resume referral services to prospective employers.

Intercollegiate career fair will be hosted at Cabrini College on Thursday, March 13, 1997 in the Atrium. 4<1+ employers will be available to interview graduating seniors; to discuss co-op, internship, and summer employment opportunities with others.

Nancy Hutchinson Director

Chery 1Hallman

Assistant to the Director

Sue Farrell Office Administrator

and go through every RCR that we have," Irwin said.

According to Irwin, there are separate RCRs for individual buildings, common areas, kitchens, bathrooms and rooms.

Caulfield and Irwin compile the lists of damages observed at the end of the year and compare them to the RCRs obtained at the beginning of the year.

"If there is a difference, we try to see if a charge should be assessed," Irwin said. "For example, let's say a door needs to be painted. The RCR says that it was okay at the beginning but at the end it has marks and scratches. Then we assess a charge. The same thing happens for missing or broken furniture."

According to Irwin, if the repairs for the damage done is more than the $250 deposit, then the student's account will be billed.

As stated in the Residence Hall Agreement for the 1996-97 academic year, any unforeseen repairs to a student's room or its furnishings will be charged to the student's bill. Repairs to public areas where a responsible person cannot be ascert<1inedwill be accounted for in the following ways: those repairs in a specific quad will be charged equally among the members of the quad, those repairs occurring on a specific floor will be charged equally among the members of the floor and those repairs occurring in the lobbies and lounges will be charged equally among members of the entire residence hall.

According to Irwin, if a student knows the person responsible for specific damages, he or she can come to her anonymously with the name of the culprit. She will then confront the person and this may avoid the charges being divided among the residents. Should a resident's guest be responsible for any, damages, the resident is held responsible and charged.

"People have to be responsible for the area where they live and try to take care of it," Irwin said.