In my short time of trying to fix things at SF State, I’ve gotten away with being a few minutes late to classes due to malfunctioning clocks. I’ve seen restrooms at their worst and I’ve impatiently sat through Web pages continually reloading themselves.
I have discovered that these problems persist because we don’t have enough people to ensure that they will be tackled quickly.
We tend to easily complain about overflowing trash cans, unsanitary restrooms and aggravatingly slow Wi-Fi connections, but how can we expect everything to run smoothly when the departments that take care of those needs are vastly understaffed?
Julianne Tolson, director of Web and user services at SF State, said her department is now working with far fewer people than they have in years past.
“It’s hard to keep track of the Wi-Fi signals around campus while servicing the campus with its computer needs when we don’t have enough people to help out,” Tolson said. “We want to know and understand where our problem areas lie so we need to hear from the campus, but it’s hard to stay on top of things when we get effected by the budget cuts.”
Raymond Castillo, the electric shop supervisor of the facilities department, said he gets dozens of work orders each day and, slowly but surely, his department is getting through the list.
“I have people on staff that have worked here for years and I feel bad because of all the work we ask them to do,” Castillo said. “But it’s something that we have to deal with so we just continue to work.”
Charles Meyer, the interim senior director of Facilities and Service Enterprises, said he would like to address every work order his department gets in a timely manner, but it’s difficult when they don’t have the manpower.
“There are three things that we prioritize and that’s campus safety, cleanliness and power outages; and if all those are addressed, then we can declare our job to be successful,” Meyer said. “There is always going to be something in need of attention on campus and I know sometimes we may not get to it right away, but I can ensure that it will get done.”
You deserve a safe, clean, well-maintained campus so lets keep things that way. If you see some trash on the ground, pick it up. Don’t add to the mess in the restroom. Flush the toilet, and if you see something that may need extra attention, give the facilities department a call at (415) 338-1568 so they can have the appropriate people take care of the job. If you notice the Wi-Fi connection is always slow in a certain spot on campus, inform the help desk at [email protected] or give them a call at 415-338-1420.
I understand we have faced severe tuition hikes and cutbacks in various departments, but I believe there is a Mr. or Ms. Fix it in all of us that will do his or her part and help keep this campus in order.
