Money paid and the damages done
Students falsely charged for damages

Craig Lindabery | staff writer
clindabery@smcvt.edu

Every year when the students leave St. Michael’s College, the housing facilities are left with some unplanned renovations.  The current fall semester is only a month underway and already the residence halls have suffered damage. 

Walls have been punched in Founders Hall, and an entire glass pane needed to be replaced on one of the doors in Alumni Hall.  Broken glass, pulled fire alarms and damaged walls are just some of the examples.  Whatever is broken or altered must be paid for, and somebody has to pay the bill. 

Admit it

“We think it’s a fair system, but when we can’t determine who caused what damage, we have to charge somebody,”says Neil Robinson, vice president of finance. “It’s necessary for the school to fix damaged property.”

Robinson notes that he does not enjoy giving students fines for damages and fire alarms.  Rather he says, it is something that must be done to take care of the college.

This broken door is just one example of residence hall destruction. Echo archive

“It’s frustrating because the students wouldn’t damage their homes the way they damage the dorms,” Robinson says. 

Robinson is not aware of any new plans to change the way the administration handles damages.  St. Michael’s College is following the same disciplinary actions that other schools follow in similar situations, he says.

Robinson says cameras would be acceptable in vending machine areas, since it is a crime to tamper with or damage the vending machines.  However, in residence areas, there is no accurate way to determine who did something without an admission of guilt, he says.

“I would not want to see cameras in residential areas,” he says.  “We would never want to see the students’ space invaded to that level.”

Robinson understands the frustration of students who have to pay for damages they were not responsible for, he says.  However, when a group of students are confronted about a specific instance of damage, the person responsible is seldom willing to admit to the damage, he says.

“We’re doing the best job we can to find out who is responsible for the damage when something gets broken,” Robinson says.

False fines

Last year, junior Matt Irons was charged for setting off a fire alarm in Linnehan Hall.  Irons did not set off the fire alarm and paid his fine unwillingly.

“I was charged $260 for setting off the alarm,” Irons says.  “I wish they would have told me I was getting fined earlier, so I would have a chance to challenge it.”

Irons only knew he was being fined when he noticed additions to his tuition payment at the end of the 2006 spring semester.  He was informed of the nature of his fines after he called Student Accounts to ask about the additional charges.  Irons is upset with the fine, but more concerned that St. Michael’s did not give him enough time to defend his position, he says. There would have also been a chance to speak to Student Accounts if he was notified while still at school, he adds.

 “If the school can’t figure out who did something, they shouldn’t charge anybody,” Irons says.  “If they couldn’t find out who did it, they didn’t do a good enough job finding the person.” 

Holes in the wall are a common form of damage. Alex McIntire, photo

Irons hopes students who are not responsible for damages do not receive fines in the future.

“We pay enough money to go here and the school should expect some damages to be unexplainable every year,” he says. 

Irons suggests that St. Michael’s should have money set aside to pay for unexplainable damages to the facilities.    

Charging everyone

Last year, sophomore Tyler Trocher received a $25 fine for a fire alarm in Joyce.  The alarm went off on the south wing of the second floor.  It could not be determined who caused the fire alarm, so the entire wing received smaller fines. 

“I was at work when that fire alarm went off,” Trocher says.

However, Trocher and the other members of the floor had a chance to defend themselves, since the fines were incurred during the semester.  Trocher wrote a letter of complaint, in which he told the administration that he was not even in the building during the alarm and therefore should not be charged.

The administration did not force Trocher to pay the fine, but other members of the hall did pay fines, he says.  Trocher and the other residents of the second-floor south wing of Joyce were notified of their fines through paper slips slid under their doors and e-mails, he says.