Editor’s note: This letter was written in response to “On campus apartments closing” and “Preschool continues to serve MSU, Starkville.”
The Faculty Senate has recently discussed this issue, and it was my impression that the matter was still under discussion by the administration. It seems the discussion phase has ended, and plans are being put into motion. The arguments against razing Aiken Village presented in our meeting were strong ones, but arguments from the administration seem inconsistent.
From the first article listed above: “The Aiken Village apartments will be demolished after Dec. 2011. Ann Bailey, Director of Housing and Residence Life, said the buildings, which were constructed in 1963, have poor infrastructure and would be too expensive to renovate.”
From the second: “Ann Bailey, director of housing and residence life, said the Aiken Village buildings have poor infrastructure and would be too expensive to renovate. ‘It’s old,’ she said. ‘[It was] built back in the 1950s after World War II. It’s still livable, but it is not to the level of quality we want to provide.'”
Why the disparity of dates? Perhaps fully publishing the administration’s research into the issue may clarify such points.
In addition, the administration is using the legitimate concern of safety as a major reason for the demolition of Aiken Village in what may appear to be a hypocritical manner.
From the second article listed above: “Kibler said one major factor in closing Aiken Village is the cost of a new sprinkler system. According to the Mississippi Fire Prevention Code, every building owned by the state, including every building on MSU’s campus, has to have an automatic sprinkler system. Installing a sprinkler system in Aiken Village would cost nearly a million dollars. ‘In order to pay for renovations, the university would have to raise rent,’ Kibler said. MSU is in the process of installing sprinkler systems for Rice, Evans, Herbert and Hull Halls.”
And from the first: “‘Another factor in closing the Aiken Village apartment complex is the cost of a new sprinkler system, which could cost near a million dollars,’ Bill Kibler, vice president for Student Affairs, said.”
I would like to point out that within the Department of Music alone, there are three constantly-used buildings serving 120 music majors, dozens of music minors and non-majors taking applied lessons and/or classes in music; together, these buildings contain 15 faculty offices, the sole classroom the department has, multiple practice rooms and the Department of Music administrative offices with no sprinkler system at all.
In fact, they are asbestos-laden as well. I suspect a fire marshall or OSHA inspection would reveal many more issues with this department and other currently used facilities across the campus.
While the economics of renovating Aiken Village may not seem attractive to the administration, its arguments for demolishing Aiken Village and displacing a valued community of students seem to be inconsistent.
Richard Human is an associate professor in the Department of Music. He can be contacted at [email protected].