Water damage in the lower-level of the music building and exposed ceiling cutouts has left some students concerned.
The lower level of the music building has a cutout exposing wires, plumbing, and ventilation. Some of the cutouts are covered with “under construction” signs and there appears to be water damage in some of the paint in the hallway.
Students have expressed concern about whether this is safe, especially those with classes in the music building.
Television and film major (TVFM), Diego Lomeli said that although he is no expert, he knows that something must be done or worse structural damage may occur.
“I’m no professional in construction, but I know when water is trapped in a building or just behind the paint, I know it’s bad,” Lomeli said. “Not instantly but over time, obviously, structural damage could occur. I think it’s pretty unsafe basically.”
Lomeli fears the structural damage could lead to dangerous consequences, if a natural disaster were to occur.
“You never know…hypothetically if an earthquake [were to] happen, I would just say the thing is already damaged and with more damage coming towards it, it’s just prone to so many disasters.”
As the ceiling cutouts and water moisture pick away at the paint on the walls, students said that the campus should do better in regards to maintenance.
Tyler Avalos, a pre-TVFM major, said that he is concerned for the safety of students and faculty.
“I feel like it’s unsafe,” Avalos said. “I feel like the campus should do a better job of trying to keep their students and faculty safe.”
He said he wonders if the cutouts could create structural risks and whether vibrations from the music could potentially play a role in creating issues. He said he’s also concerned about the peeling paint, considering paint is made with chemicals that could potentially contaminate the air.
A few months ago, the TVFM building and the music building received repairs to fix the roofs and patch-up leaks.
“Leaks during heavy rains had become an increasingly serious problem,” Arts and Letters Dean, Stephen Trzaskoma said in a statement to the University Times regarding the repairs.
Despite repairs, the music building has exposed piping, paint peeling off of the walls and holes cut-out of the ceiling, covered with plastic tarps.
The University Times reached out to the public affairs office multiple times about the damage in the music building, and have yet to receive a response.
