Small vent-- apologies in advance

<p>I’m not gonna ask to see that damage report!</p>

<p>My son lived in Paterson and he was charged nothing when he checked out of the dorm two weeks ago. The RA who did the walk-through was totally cool. He will be staying in Paterson again as a sophomore.</p>

<p>I think AC574 is wrong with saying that Tulane charges too much, and sorry for seeming too demeaning, but 42 dollars for a damage bill is incredibly low for damage billing and you should be glad it’s that low. As my RA explained to me this year, the way that damages are determined is on a fixed equation which is rather fair:</p>

<p>First, for each thing that merits damage billing (which is usually biohazards and vandalism) they charge for overtime to those that have to clean it up. They do this because most of the time the vomit/urination incidents happen on weekends (obviously when people go drinking) and they have to hire people to clean it up. It also takes the workers usually 8 hours to clean the buildings (they don’t just do one) and to clean up the other things takes EXTRA time out of their days.</p>

<p>Second, the biohazard/vandalism clean ups have to be cleaned up with a lot of chemicals that cost a lot of money. For example, vomit on the floor not only has to be wiped up, but they also have to come in with a huge carpet cleaner which requires another person than the original person to operate it. Unfortunately, the bloody condom incident from what I understand required a huge amount of money to clean up because they had to sterilize everything in that machine. At least that’s what I was told by my RA. </p>

<p>So when you think about it, the 1-3 hours to clean up the vomit (depending on how large it is) at 15-20 (I’m not sure on the hourly wages of the cleaning workers) dollars for two people, plus cleaning solutions, the split bill is quite low. Additionally, as jym626 point out, they don’t just do community billing to the entire building. If vomit is found on a floor, say for instance in a common room, they charge that entire floor. On a floor that may have a lower population due to HSCs, Area Directors, RAs, and HSCs it gets split up amongst around 42 vs. 54 (or some where around that number). Things that usually happen on the elevator or are vandalism are usually spread amongst the entire building. Vandalism is spread amongst everyone because of the high damages that they don’t want one single floor to endure. Such as the 10th floor and the missing peep holes this year.</p>

<p>While it’s an awful thing to be billed for someone else’s errors, I think Tulane’s area directors/student service coordinators do a very good job at distributing the damage fees to those who deserve them and those who don’t. So while it may seem kind of high to get a bill for 42 dollars, be glad that you didn’t get charged the 12000 dollars that one floor received a couple of years ago when they decided to spill oil down the entire hall for a slip and slide. They had to replace all the carpet and the ceiling tiles on the floor below it. :)</p>

<p>$12,000?!?!?! :eek: For that kind of $$ I’d expect prez Cowen to tuck me in at night and sing me a lullaby! :D</p>

<p>Assessing charges like this may be an attempt to discipline students through parental influence. Good luck with that! LOL</p>

<p>update-
Got hit with ANOTHER $112 and change charge for room damage (which, upon further discussion, is apparently for a carpet stain), and community hall damage (trash in the hall, screws missing from a hall toilet, etc). The school housing office is reconsidering the** $100 charge **for a stain on the carpet ( :eek: ) (they will reduce it to $40. Well, thats a start). My s is looking for his checkout sheet that he got when he left. His room was pristeen. I took a picture of him with a vacuum cleaner (a sight I’d never seen). Hopefully he’ll recall where he put the housing checkout sheet, as there was not a notation of a carpet stain, per his recall, and there was a stain on the carpet when he moved in (which wasnt noted on his check in sheet, and who would pay any attention to that anyway-- who cares- its a DORM room!). His roommate got hit with a $30 fee for a drawer being uneven in a piece of furniture. This is just silly. Besides, the carpet will surely be cleaned as part of the routine summer cleaning. It really feels petty. That said… maybe I’ll start assessing my s a “community fee” for every time I have to clean up after him this summer. There’s a plan…</p>

<p>I sorta understand the $12 charge, though some of the fees seem silly. But yes, they should clean up after themselves and not damage stuff. But The carpet stain thing is bothersome. I am hopeful the housing person will have a positive response after she talks to maintenance. She said the stain “looked deep” in a photo. (???) I am not sure how one determines that, or what caused it, or whose fault it is (roommate didnt get chanred for it,as it was supposedly on DS side of the room…) Anyway, I am hopeful they will reconsider this as part of normal wear and tear. That room was absolutely SPOTLESS with no damage when we left. I am disappointed that they would try to nickel and dime like this. If I got hit with $100 fee for a stain and his rommate $30 for an uneven drawer, I have to wonder what others are getting hit with. Seems like the poor housing office will be fielding a lot of phonecalls in the next few days. I can understand if someone really did do some significant damage to a room (broke the bed, tore the blinds out or whatever) but this is just silly, and leaves a bad taste in ones mouth…</p>

<p>I am appreciative of their willingness to reduce the exhorbitant cost, but still, $40 to clean a carpet stain? If I was close by, I’d do it myself!</p>

<p>We just got another room damage fee for this semester, but it was only 6.35. Our total for the year was 80.35 (sharp). I guess the previous charges were for dorm damages while this recent one is for something in his room. I think I’ll ask him to check his email (I never knew they got emails about damages until I read this thread)</p>

<p>^^^ Those fees are reasonable. I spoke to someone last night whose son was in Wall. He got a $15 fee for hole in the wall needing repair. So a stain in the carpet would cost twice as much??? Seems extreme.</p>

<p>I found the move out slip-- carbon is too light to read so really DK what it says. The RA didnt say a word to DS or us about anything. I will waiti to hear from the housing office and am hopeful for a positive response. If I’d known there would be a charge for a stain, I’d have brought some carpet stain remover and taken care of it. Takes just a minute or so. I wish I’d get paid $30 for a minute of work…</p>