Gallery • 13 Photos

Courtesy Of Lisa Beard

A hole sits on the wall behind one of the water fountains in the Jay Tolman Residence Hall. Retired custodian and CMU alumnus Lisa Beard sent their concerns over Tolman Hall's lack of maintenance and 14 total images from the building to President John Marshall on April 29.

The day Lisa Beard retired, they sent an email to President John Marshall about unaddressed maintenance concerns and the poor living conditions of the Jay Tolman Residence Hall. The now-retired custodian and CMU alumnus included 14 images of the residence hall in their message. The Criterion received the April 29 email from an anonymous source.

Beard commented on multiple points about the building’s lack of maintenance. All of the quotes, and the following quote, were copied directly from the email:

“I thought you should be aware of the condition [Tolman’s] in.  I have included pics of the hole in the wall by a drinking fountain.  The rusty pos [piece of shit] fountain Rafael used to replace a broken one.  The holes in the shower tile grout in all the bathrooms.  The shower maintenance that going on a month now. The condition of the tile on several bathroom floors. The shower ceilings that are bubbling up. The rusty electric plugs in the bathrooms. The air vents in the stairwell that are in bad shape.  The hallways missing molding.  The white board that nobody thinks needs replacing. If not for Brandon painstakingly redoing all the sinks falling off the walls over Christmas break you would have pics of those as well.”

CMU built Tolman Hall in 1966 and considers it one of the “original residence halls,” according to a February 2015 Facebook post from Residence Life. It houses 196 first-year students, with a yearly cost of $4,670 for a double room and $6,960 for a single room.

Beard referenced renovations to other dorms as an indication that CMU is leaving Tolman Hall behind.

“Pinion  got new bathrooms, tolman nothing.  Rait got a new roof, tolman nothing.  Monument got new floors, tolman washers and dryers so cheaply made they need constant  maintenance. Lucero got new furniture now getting new floors with orchard getting kitchen work, again tolman nothing,” Beard wrote.

Beard asked about renovations to the residence hall during a previous Town Hall Meeting for staff and faculty. Marshall said in the meeting that there were no plans for renovations to the building. They asked President Marshall to reconsider not upgrading Tolman Hall.

“I am positive you would not live this way but their just college kids right,” Beard wrote. “Those kids help pay your salary they deserve more of your respect.”

Beard retired from their position on the facilities custodial staff after sending the email.

“Another thing today was my last day as I’m now retired so you will not be able to fire me for saying these things,” Beard wrote. “I sincerely hope you will reconsider and give the ‘workhorse’ some badly needed attention and those students more respect.”

The Criterion reached out to Beard, Marshall and Area Coordinator for Walnut Ridge Apartments, Rait Hall, Tolman Hall and Albers Hall Joseph Ambrosino for comment. Director of Residence Life, Emily Bollinger, informed the Criterion on May 11 that the area coordinator of Tolman Hall is Cy Shimamura. The Residence Life website lists both Ambrosino and Shimamura as coordinators for Tolman Hall as of May 12. Ambrosino was incorrectly identified as a coordinator for the building.

No one immediately responded to the Criterion’s request for comment.

The Criterion accidentally used the incorrect contact information when attempting to contact Bollinger on May 7. The Criterion has reached out for comment again using the correct contact information.