LSU’s campus is known for its sprawling oak trees and beautiful scenery. But for residents of South Hall, living on campus may be losing its charm.

South Hall, which houses the mass communication residential college, has been plagued with maintenance problems since the start of the spring semester, with some issues spanning back to the fall, residents say.

Residents say the elevator doesn’t always work, especially around move in, and that the hall’s entry systems have been broken since around Jan. 20.

The doors, usually locked and only accessible by keycard, have been propped open with random objects such as disposable water bottles and cardboard drawer organizers. This has left room for several problems such as people being locked out of their rooms when the objects are moved and strangers gaining access to the halls. 

Biology freshman Trinity Bullock is troubled by the lack of progress on fixing the doors.

“Four men came to knock on my door when my roommate was home and asked to use our bathroom, even though there’s a public bathroom on the first floor, and we live on the fourth,” Bullock said. “The lack of initiative is unsettling at the least because the safety of the students should be the top priority of the maintenance staff.”

Several residents have had to text their respective hall group chats hoping there’s someone in their room who can open the door for them. If not, they’re left stranded.

“I’ve come and opened the door for people who texted in the GroupMe saying they were locked out lots of times, sometimes even at 1 or 2 a.m.,” mass communication freshman Ella Christopher said. “I’ve been locked out a few times myself, and it’s been super inconvenient having to deal with this.”

Early childhood education freshman Sophia Koepplinger said the most frustrating problem is the inconsistency with the elevator working. She also said her bathroom is filled with mold and the toilet recently stopped functioning properly.

“I went downstairs or to my friends’ dorm, and it was very inconvenient,” Koepplinger said. “When we go down to get work orders in, I think that people should gauge the severity of them, because obviously our own toilet wasn’t working, and it took them a day and a half to get to it.”

The South Hall issues add to a long list of complaints about LSU’s residential and academic infrastructure, which the Reveille documented in an infrastructure series last spring.

Herget Hall, for example, was arun with geckos, the Reveille reported in January 2021. Residents also reported problems with the elevator frequently not working, sometimes for days-long stretches, and temperature control issues.

Students in the dorms in the Pentagon Community, built in 1923, told the Reveille about mold, peeling paint, bug problems and poor Wi-Fi. One student said her air conditioning window unit emitted a terrible smell that lingered on her even after she left her dorm. Another student thought the “black fuzzy stuff” on her A.C. was causing her congestion and sickness or making them worse.

Security complaints, too, aren’t unique to South Hall. A Cypress Hall resident told the Reveille that a man got into the dorm and chased him down the hallway. A student living in Acadian Hall told the Reveille her ex-boyfriend managed to bypass several supposed security layers to enter her hall and attempt to meet with her against her will.

Catherine David, associate director of Res Life, said they are aware of the issues with the doors at South Hall and “have technicians on site working on the programming daily.”

She said most of the problems with the elevators happened during move-in and are caused by the doors being continuously held open. The door in South Hall is a year old, so the problem is rarely mechanical, she said.

Any problems can be reported to the Res Life Help Desk, [email protected] or through a work order in the housing portal, David said.