The worst kept secret on campus is that the budget has been cut again and again, but the seemingly steady decay on campus is another matter altogether.

However, is the Facilities Management and Planning Office--the department that deals with campus maintenance and planning--the real problem, or are they, like the students and faculty, getting the short end of the stick?
Walking around campus, it's not hard to see juxtapositions of shiny new buildings next to old, decrepit ones.

Consider the recent curb painting, which took place on Varney Circle--the little road that goes around a grandiose fountain which hasn't been on in recent memory. Just going around the circle says so much.

At the top of Varney Circle is the Student Services Center--home of financial aid, student employment, and the cashiers who collect tuition. Moving clockwise along Varney Circle, the first stop is the campus shuttle stop, which many students consider to be a tremendous waste of their parking fees.

Moving on, there is a path leading to Building 37--the old registration building--which is currently being renovated. The path also crosses the spot where there was once a huge hole that was part of a wiring project, and continues to the fancy brick crosswalks which were recently constructed near the aging Kuykendall Hall.

Further down Varney Circle, there are a slew of wooden buildings. Some are apparently inhabited, but others appear to be condemned.

These buildings, obviously beyond repair, are simply being left to rot where they stand. The only time anyone seems to lift a finger is to occasionally replenish the red "Danger" tape.

Continuing around the circle finally leads to a road which leads to nowhere--sort of. It is actually a road off campus, which terminates at University Avenue, near Burger King.

It seems the university didn't want people using that entrance anymore, but rather than put up a wall, a number of yellow pipes were sunk into the ground.

That works for cars, but moped and motorcycle riders often zip between the poles, sometimes at dangerously high speeds.

Along this road are Dean and Gartley Halls. Both buildings used to have rusted metal stairwells clinging to their sides. The stairs were finally repaired last semester, but are now slated to be torn down.

Finally, coming back to the Student Services Center, one can catch a glimpse of Porteus Hall. There is some construction going there -- nothing necessary, just a few cosmetic changes. Next to that is Crawford Hall which, need it or not, is being repainted.

Workers repair the roof of the snack kiosk near Keller Hall.

Across campus, a crew renovates a kiosk outside of Keller Hall. The kiosk houses vending machines for Marriott, but the renovation is being paid for by the university.

Ralph Nakamoto, Marriott food service director, said their exclusive contract with the university calls for Marriott, not the university, to pay for maintenance on the various eateries on campus.

However, Nakamoto said the buildings are the responsibility of the university. He said Marriott need only pay for maintenance on things under the roof, above the foundation, and inside the walls.

"The kiosk's roof was in need of repair," Nakamoto said. "It was also damaged from people putting up notices on the sides, and it needed paint."

Marriott isn't paying for the reconstruction of their areas in Campus Center, which were gutted by an arsonist in April.

Nakamoto said the university's insurance is paying for the repairs. However, Nakamoto points out, the Campus Center can be a gray area altogether, because some things, like the air conditioning, benefit both Marriott and university facilities.

The arrangement worked out well in the recent construction of Paradise Palms near Hamilton Library, Nakamoto said. The project was done in two phases -- the university built the outer shell in phase one, Marriott furnished the inside in phase two.

"Paradise Palms is a good deal for the university," Nakamoto said. "Marriott has only been using it since the end of 1996, but it will be turned over in 2004, when the contract expires."

C. Mamo Kim, president of the Associated Students of the University of Hawai'i, does not think it is such a good deal because the university would have to remodel the building's inside anyway.

Continued on next page...

[ TOP ]