Five weeks have passed since the sprinkler system was triggered in Olive Hall, the freshman dorm here at UNA. After residents returned to their normal rooms from temporary housing, it seemed as if the nightmare was finally over.

This feeling of normalcy was short lived when the baseboards within the affected rooms were removed.

Freshman resident, Landon Parker, says that his dorm room was left without baseboards for “probably around three weeks or more.”

Just when Olive residents began to believe they could return back to studying, obtaining an education and enjoying campus life, their rooms were once again in chaos. Sticky, loose baseboards were thrown into the floors of the dorm rooms. Students had to take it upon themselves to move them in order to gain some sense of organization and cleanliness.

However, not all freshmen were allowed to do this. Resident, Hayden Futral explained, “I do not mind because they have to do what they have to do,” when asked how she felt about the employees removing baseboards and furniture.

She also explained that because of all the work being done on her room and the process of restoring the dorm rooms back to how they are supposed to appear, her “room looks like a mess, when it actually is not.”

Throughout this tricky process, students have been left with dirt packed carpet, loose baseboards, and holes drilled into the bottoms of the walls. Residents, like Futral and Parker, understand that the university must do all that is necessary to ensure the well-being of students. At the same time, residents are left wondering when this process will be completed.

On Sept. 19, affected residents received an email from the university’s Housing and Residence Life department. Within the email, students were notified that the facilities staff members “began on the lower floors and are working their way up.”

Students such as Parker now have their baseboards reattached to their walls while Futral and other residents of the fourth and fifth floors are still patiently awaiting the attachment of theirs.

Within that email from Housing and Residence Life, students were informed that “once all baseboards have been replaced, we will begin cleaning carpeted areas.” This, as residents understand, is the final step before going about their normal lives. They just do not know when this will occur.

Freshman resident Futral explained that her carpet is “discolored where the water was and that it is coming up from baseboards.” Like many, she is wondering when this will be resolved.

Residents of Olive Hall understand the severity and extensive time and effort needed to complete this task. Students simply wish they had been told a specific date that staff members would arrive to do the cleaning process.

Residents, like Parker understand that “when you look at it from the construction workers perspective it is very hard because you never know when something will come up and take longer than expected.”

Inhabitants of the residence hall know that issues arise and sometimes other things can overshadow tasks such as, attaching baseboards. At the end of the day however, students have a job to do. When loose baseboards are scattered around their rooms and they are constantly worried that they will return home to find their furniture pulled out from the walls once again, it is a huge inhibitor on their education.

All residents can do for the time being is hope this process comes to a conclusion soon and that they never have to go through anything like this ever again.