The first in a regular column by Police and Safety Services Director, Kevin J. Stoehr. -Page 3 4 Pages Where PARKING FEES - The fee-free alternative Meade Heights Dirty, Bug Infested, Students Complain Food & Housing Services Counters Help Was Available By Matthew Bowman and Dan Zehr Of the Capital Times Moving into a new home is always a special moment. For some, on-campus housing may be the first "home away from home" that they experience. Many high school students even count down the days until they can move out and start new lives for themselves. Sunday, Aug. 24, was moving day for all residents at Penn State Harrisburg's Meade Heights. Keven Kerschner, a new stu dent, showed up to move into his new residence. "I could not wait to move in," he said, "but when I opened the door, I was ready to Has All go back home." The problem was, his new home at Meade Heights was not vacant. It was already occupied, but not by other students. In stead, Kerschner walked in to see ants and cockroaches had made themselves at home. Moreover dirt, grease and scum covered the walls and floors. Old broken furniture and old mat tresses were left there from be fore, he said. It appeared that no one had even attempted to clean the house before the new stu dents arrived. "I never expected to move into a pig pen," said Kyle Hartman, one of Kerschner' roommates. "I figured the place would be clean before we got here." Another roommate, Eric Ney o - - Exam hedule 414 em 411 Vs 41 Th. Capitol the Money Gone? Student Parking Fees By Rick Deitz Of The Capital Times Many Penn State Harrisburg students are asking why park ing fees are charged every year. Specifically, they are wondering why the charges are not included with the tu ition. Dr. Jerry South, Assistant Provost at PSH, oversees the parking funds. He explained the campus was presented with an opportunity to obtain more federal funding. To obtain these funds, however, the cam pus' operating budget had to be cut by 10 percent. A budget reduction study began in 1993 to decide what to trim. Once the study chose the cutbacks to make, the fed eral replacement funds could be requested, South said. However, replacement funds could not be used for pro- agreed. "I was very disap pointed," he said, "I can't be lieve that I actually live here. This is not what I expected at all." This story is not an isolated incident. A house just a few doors up the street from Kerschner' s had the same prob lems of bugs and dirt. "I was shocked when I opened the door and witnessed how dis gusting the place looked," said resident Patty Wrona. "My par ents were just as upset and could not understand why the place was not cleaned." However, most of the Meade Heights houses were not as dirty. The majority of them were cleaned before anyone moved in. Jo Ann Coleman, manager of grams which were reduced. The decision was made to remove something from the operating budget that did not directly effect the education or services provided to the students at PSH. Operating costs of maintaining the roads and parking lots totaled over $lOO,OOO. So it seemed logi cal to remove these expenses from the operating budget. By putting them into a separate program, the roads and lots could be maintained while the needed reduction in the bud get was accomplished. The faculty also pay a price for these budget reforms. They pay $lO a month through a payroll deduction, South said. Unlike students however, the faculty must pay for a full year even though they may only teach nine months. The use of all these fees can be found in the Source and hundreds of students call the complex home, at least temporarily Housing and Food Services, ex plained they contract the clean- ing to outside companies. If See "Meade" On Page Two necessary they will do it them- December 10, 1997 Revisited Use of Funds Statement, avail able at the vehicle registration office. It reports the current budget runs over $183,000. So where do all this parking money go? Most of the money is used for maintanance of roads and lots, maintenance support, and the salaries and wages of the clerks and staff who support the registration program. Also, the road signs on cam pus were refurbished this year to make the signs easier to read and understand. Money is used for snow re moval as well. This expense varies year-to-year. If there is a heavy snowfall, a contractor with the proper heavy equip ment must be called to assist the campus crew with re moval. Obviously, this will See "Parking" Page 3 selves. However, when the Volume 37 Number 4
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