LAWTON, Oklahoma (KSWO) – Senior Brittney Payette recently drew attention to the ongoing problems in the Shepler dormitories through her article in Cameron Collegian.
Payette said she’s complained about installation problems since she was a student, but it’s only gotten worse.
She said toilets often overflow, causing waste to spill onto the floor.
She also said mold was growing in the bathrooms, among other issues that needed to be addressed.
Payette decided it was time to speak up, so she wrote a story about it.
“Your voice can make a difference and it’s okay to be a little nervous about speaking up, but it’s still important to speak up because these issues don’t get better if nobody speaks up,” Payette said.
After the article was published, Payette said the university quickly got to work.
She said she never expected it to make such a big impact, but is grateful it did.
“I hope that all of these changes are an indication of what the future will look like and that they will continue to improve the living experience on campus,” she said.
Vice President Jerrett Phillips said the dormitories opened in 1969 and house about 140 students.
He said they have worked on the installation in the past and always do their best to put students’ needs first.
Since the article was published, plumbers have been examining the pipes to find the root of the problem.
“So we need to educate our students a bit because we’ve found a lot of things in our pipes that shouldn’t be there, which kind of leads to the problem, but at the same time, 50-year-old pipes will have problems,” Phillips said.
dr Phillips said they were glad the students felt comfortable and compelled to have a voice to solve problems.
“We want to have that as part of educational models so that when students go into society, they’re problem solvers, they’re community destroyers, so we’re very proud of our students,” he said.
Vice President Phillips said they want to create forums where more students can come together to voice their problems and concerns.
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