Letter to the Editor:Pinehaven as bad as all that and more
Issue date: 11/3/04 Section: Opinion
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I applaud Mr. Mathis for his letter. My husband and I lived in Pinehaven for a little over one year. We were in one of the front two buildings and the conditions were still deplorable. I don't think students on this campus realize Pinehaven is even there much less the conditions of the apartments. The complex itself resembles a housing project and the inside isn't that much better.
The bathroom closets have a large vent with two-inch slats in the wall. this vent is large enough for a man to crawl through and the space between the slats is large enough for squirrels and rats. The vent no longer serves any purpose and has been bricked up on buildings A and B, but I guess because the other residents aren't in direct line of view with the public they don't deserve the same. The apartments are set up for washer machines but not dryers. The wall with the washer hook-ups is rotten because of leaky faucets that may be reported but never get fixed. Moisture in the walls breeds mold and bacteria which causes upper respiratory conditions for many of the residents. The bathtubs are down right disgusting. It doesn't matter how hard you scrub, the black funk never comes off, but the paint does. You have to keep the drains covered because the huge roaches will come up into your apartment from the sewer. Don't think just because that happens that someone will actually treat the interior of your apartment for pests. No, they will only treat the exterior of your apartment. That doesn't seem to help when the fire ants have moved into the walls, come into your apartment, and made nests in your linen closet or your sock drawer. There is a peculiar sound from the walls if you hit them just right. It sounds like pellets trickling through the layers of the wall. I can only imagine where these pellets came from or the disease they may harbor, can you?
The playground equipment for the children wasn't provided by McNeese, those parents pooled their money together to purchase safer equipment for their children because the equipment provided by McNeese is missing boards on walkways 3 feet in the air. The corridors are bleak and dimly lit. Only one door has a peephole and an additional lock so if someone approaches from the other door you are left vulnerable. There are no emergency boxes located in the area and the police presence is almost non-existent. The increase in daytime assaults, attempted rapes, and robberies is a sad result of these conditions. It is heartbreaking to know that this is the attention our single mothers, their children, and our married students receive.
The bathroom closets have a large vent with two-inch slats in the wall. this vent is large enough for a man to crawl through and the space between the slats is large enough for squirrels and rats. The vent no longer serves any purpose and has been bricked up on buildings A and B, but I guess because the other residents aren't in direct line of view with the public they don't deserve the same. The apartments are set up for washer machines but not dryers. The wall with the washer hook-ups is rotten because of leaky faucets that may be reported but never get fixed. Moisture in the walls breeds mold and bacteria which causes upper respiratory conditions for many of the residents. The bathtubs are down right disgusting. It doesn't matter how hard you scrub, the black funk never comes off, but the paint does. You have to keep the drains covered because the huge roaches will come up into your apartment from the sewer. Don't think just because that happens that someone will actually treat the interior of your apartment for pests. No, they will only treat the exterior of your apartment. That doesn't seem to help when the fire ants have moved into the walls, come into your apartment, and made nests in your linen closet or your sock drawer. There is a peculiar sound from the walls if you hit them just right. It sounds like pellets trickling through the layers of the wall. I can only imagine where these pellets came from or the disease they may harbor, can you?
The playground equipment for the children wasn't provided by McNeese, those parents pooled their money together to purchase safer equipment for their children because the equipment provided by McNeese is missing boards on walkways 3 feet in the air. The corridors are bleak and dimly lit. Only one door has a peephole and an additional lock so if someone approaches from the other door you are left vulnerable. There are no emergency boxes located in the area and the police presence is almost non-existent. The increase in daytime assaults, attempted rapes, and robberies is a sad result of these conditions. It is heartbreaking to know that this is the attention our single mothers, their children, and our married students receive.
