UH dorm facilities slammed in audit
By Loren Moreno
Advertiser Staff Writer
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Dormitories at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa are "dirty, unattractive and sorely deteriorated," according to state auditor Marion Higa.
Higa also criticized inadequate security and suggested UH abandon plans for a new, $71 million residence hall.
The state audit was conducted after legislators and students last year lamented the condition of student housing and its management. For years, student government leaders have said dorm residents are treated unfairly by housing staff and live in poor and unsafe conditions.
The audit's findings echo many of the students' concerns. However, the state auditor plans to release a second audit report later examining whether students living in the residence halls are being treated fairly.
The auditor's findings released yesterday say:
ARMED SECURITY
The audit recommends arming security officers and giving them arrest authority, citing "widespread" burglaries and other safety issues. The university said such changes would require serious discussions, and student government officials opposed them outright.
"HPD is just a phone call away, and they have the training and the resources if things do really get out of hand," said Grant Teichman, president of the Associated Students of UH-Manoa.
All of UH's 12 peer institutions have campus police with arrest authority.
Higa also recommended that UH-Manoa terminate or scale down an 814-bed dormitory construction project, saying the university lacks the occupancy levels and revenues in its current facilities to warrant expansion.
"Residence halls and apartments on the Manoa campus are in a general state of disrepair. Rather than maintaining the existing dormitories, leaders are preoccupied with their desire to expand student housing capacity," the audit said.
UH-Manoa officials maintain that the new hall is necessary to accommodate the many students who want to live on campus.
"We have been equally concerned about increasing the number of beds and the quality of the beds we offer currently. We are convinced that we need more beds. We have many applications from students, and our surveys tell us that if we have good or better living conditions that students would want to live on campus," said Francisco Hernandez, vice chancellor for students at UH-Manoa.
Teichman said the university has repeatedly ignored repair and maintenance, and "continued neglect" would likely lead to fewer students returning to on-campus housing.
He said he supports the expansion of student housing, but also believes UH should improve its existing dormitories.
"Most students wouldn't mind paying more, but why should they if the university can't even fix a lock down there?" Teichman said.
DORM RATES 'TOO LOW'
According to the audit, the university doesn't have enough money to properly maintain its dorm spaces mainly because "bed spaces are not fully occupied and the rates charged are too low." Student Housing Services is a self-sufficient operation that relies solely on dorm fees.
Fees now range from about $3,000 to $6,000 a year. The UH Board of Regents has approved a 25 percent fee increase spread over five years.
Occupancy rates averaged 87 percent for the fall and spring semester combined over the past six years, according to the report. Only in Fall 2005 did occupancy reach 95 percent.
However, UH officials believe that more students would live on campus if the university provided better facilities. They said they are committed to repairing existing facilities and building new ones.
"We're going to fill the beds," Hernandez said.
Hernandez also pointed out that the university has secured approval to spend $40 million in bond money to repair and renovate its current dorms over the next two years.
Alana Folen, a 21-year-old Manoa student who used to live in on-campus housing, said she would not pay the higher fees.
"I don't think it's worth it for the quality of living," Folen said.
Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.
