SG recommends re-de-densifying

FATIMAH AZEEM Opinion Editor

Student Government passed a resolution calling upon the University to extend dedensification protocols to the end of the fall semester on Oct. 5, five days after UTD returned to full-density instruction.

Dorm windows cannot weather October storm

Several Comets reported property damage from leaky windows last week

During the past week’s influx of thunderstorms and rainy weather, several Comets faced issues with water leaks in their residences – and with little help from the housing offices, some have resorted to fixing the problems themselves.

From Oct. 10-14, severe thunderstorms made their way across Richardson, leading to minor flooding in many apartments and dorms. Students have reported these incidents along with other issues but have had slow responses from the housing offices and maintenance.

Some cases of the leaks have been more severe than others. Psychology sophomore Maddie Jennings said their laptop was soaked after their apartment window seal collapsed from the storms. Despite being classified as an “emergency visit,” maintenance failed to resolve the issue.

“There was water literally pouring onto the mainframe of my computer, dripping through it,” Jennings said. “I had just fixed it myself because the wifi hadn’t been working for almost two months. Originally, they said they’d come sometime in the next week and my RA had to call [housing services] several times to convince them to come sooner. A guy ended up coming out the next day and telling me there wasn’t anything they could do because it was ‘part of roofing.’”

Leaks have been an ongoing issue, only exacerbated by the recent rains. Chemistry senior Jason Davidson, who has faced previous issues with leaks as well as other problems in his housing, said, “[Maintenance] was fairly quick. They came to fix it the next day, but the staff said that the windows were not installed well, and they were sealed poorly and that's why they were leaking. But instead of fixing it, they just put more caulk over it. Which did seal it up, but I feel like it will start leaking again.”

Director of Housing Operations Hayley Minton said she was not aware of the influx of leaks and claimed that leaks are inevitable with harsh weather.

“Anytime there is severe weather, it doesn’t matter where you live, there is a possibility of leaks,” Minton said. “And I do not know if there is a history of leaks prior to [this week], but when there are high winds and rain, there will always be a possibility of leaks somewhere.”

Students can report any housing issues such as leaks and rainy weather incidents as an emergency or a work order. Emergency orders will be prioritized, but students have claimed that their emergency orders are being addressed quickly but not getting solved completely.

“We have a dedicated maintenance staff, and they try to turn around work orders as quickly as they can. They will always prioritize water, plumbing, electrical, air conditioning and heat first because those are safety and security things for students,” Minton said. “Then we will go into other work orders. We will not always get to those as soon as students would like us to be able to do it. We are short-staffed in maintenance, but we still are addressing work orders as soon as we can.”

SG also passed resolutions recommending faculty keep seating charts for their classrooms, give students continued access to recorded lectures and eliminate assignments requiring in-person attendance. SG will meet with the Academic Senate on Oct. 20, who will then decide whether to pass the resolutions – or altered versions of them – onto the University.

Cognitive science sophomore and Academic Affairs Chair Kruthi Kanduri, who helped write and voted in favor of all four resolutions, said her committee pursued the proposals in alignment with student interest – and to help with contact tracing efforts for the seating chart proposal. The committee gauged student opinion through a classroom policy and de-densification survey in late September, where 2,505 students (over 80% of survey respondents) voted in support of extending de-densification for the rest of the fall semester.

“All of the resolutions are limited to the fall 2021 semester,” Kanduri said. “This is mainly because the COVID-19 pandemic is so variable – it keeps changing. As far as this semester goes, we’re halfway through it at this point, and it’s a difficult transition for stu-