The petition to “Demand Accountability for Murray State University’s Negligent Infrastructure” has amassed over 1,400 signatures in the past three days. As support grows, more parents have joined the ranks of petition signers, sharing their concerns for their children’s living situation.
“We are paying full tuition for our daughter to maybe have power and/or running water,” wrote signer and Murray State parent Heather. “Her first room was soaked with water after a heavy rain. Multiple fire scares and multiple power outages … when is enough enough?”
Other family members have expressed frustration with how long it has taken for power to be restored to RH White and Regents halls.
“As a parent and grandparent with a grandchild attending in the fall, this is concerning,” wrote signer and future Murray State parent Wesley. “We understand things happen but not putting the safety of students first is despicable. I know two trucking companies that can bring in rental commercial generators and set them up that could have each dorm back livable in 12 hours time. Why was this not an option? Why was a basketball game prioritized over students’ wellbeing?”
According to a statement from the Murray State Office of Branding, Marketing and Communication, the University’s primary focus and responsibility remains the health and safety of the campus community.
“We have outside electrical crews, contractors and University personnel on campus who have been addressing the power outage to the four impacted buildings (RH White, Regents, the CFSB Center and the Wellness Center), and work will continue throughout the week,” a representative of the office said in a statement. “We are very grateful to these individuals for their dedicated hard work and efforts as they safely continue to work through the coming inclement weather.”
While many displaced students decided to stay with friends or drive home to avoid impacts of the power outage, that wasn’t an option for some, causing stress for parents.
“My daughter is 3,500 miles from home and we are trusting the school to provide safe accommodations for her,” wrote signer and Murray State parent Stacy. “I can’t even count how many times there has been an issue with her dorm building that (has) prevented her from being able to stay there. She cannot just drive home when the dorm closes down.”
The University announced on Tuesday morning that classes would be cancelled or conducted remotely for the rest of the week, allowing students to go home. But for some, the timing of this announcement was too late to leave in time to beat the snow.
“My daughter drove from Central (City), Illinois in a snowstorm just to be told she had nowhere to stay, then told classes were cancelled for the rest of the week. Just to drive back in another snowstorm,” wrote signer and Murray State parent Jackson.
Students have expressed similar frustration with the delayed communication.
“With the amount of money that I pay to attend MSU, the least I can expect is some form of communication in a somewhat timely fashion when my power/water is out. ESPECIALLY when temperatures are below freezing, or there are dangerous weather conditions (active tornado watch and thunderstorm warning in this instance) and my power/heat is out for over 12 hours,” wrote signer Delainey. “MSU has failed to do the bare minimum, and it’s extremely disappointing.”
Students have also pointed out that this is not the first power outage Murray State has had in recent years.
“This is the third time this year that the power has gone out in Regents/White for multiple days in dangerous weather conditions,” wrote signer Aspen. “MSU needs to be held accountable for their negligence that will eventually cost lives.”
“There is no reason that a university making as much money as Murray State should suffer as many electrical outages as we do,” wrote signer Jacob. “The residents of Regents and White have been left without power for two weeks over the last academic year which is absolutely unacceptable! It’s time to stop wasting money on a basketball arena we cannot even fill and invest in our students.”
While this is not the first power outage of the school year, it also isn’t the first time residents of RH White and Regents have been without power for multiple days. As displaced students prepare to spend the rest of the week in temporary homes, some are questioning why this issue with Regents and RH White’s power has yet to be fully addressed and repaired to prevent another long term outage.
“MSU has shown time and time again that they care more about money/revenue than their students,” wrote signer Rylee. “During the last major power outage (where there was, again, a lack of communication from MSU) White and Regents’s generator broke and the University failed to repair it. That failure to do their jobs caused this to happen. MSU needs to do better.”
Rylee cautioned high school students against attending Murray State until the University starts “caring about their students more.” Rylee said the University’s handling of this situation has made them feel “ashamed to be a Racer.”
Residential housing staff worked long hours on Monday to place Regents and RH White residents in dorm rooms with empty beds. These relocation efforts involved collecting important information from students via Google forms, going door to door to keep students informed and even helping students move to their temporary homes.
“Our residential housing staff including our resident advisors, resident directors, and our housing office continue to assist students with specific needs, circumstances and questions they may have,” said a representative of the Office of Branding, Marketing and Communication. “We apologize for any inconvenience to our students in RH White and Regents Halls along with any others who may have been impacted.”
Unfortunately, some students feel like they have slipped through the cracks.
“I am one of the students displaced and I have tried to gain answers with no luck,” wrote signer Meghan. “My week has been spent stressing about where I am living, if I have what I need to be productive and essentially living out of my truck and on a friend’s couch at night. The experience has made me (feel) anything but human.”
The cause of these oversights appears to be the result of unclear communication from the University. While the University planned to ensure every displaced student had somewhere to go, unclear wording in an email sent to RH White and Regents residents led many to believe they would have to be out of their dorm by 8 p.m., whether they had received a relocation or not. As 8 p.m. loomed closer, some students without relocations took matters into their own hands, booking hotel rooms and traveling to stay with friends and family.
“I had to go home, which is four hours away, because there wasn’t space on campus for me,” wrote signer Annie.
According to the Office of Branding, Marketing and Communication, the University remains committed to keeping the Racer community informed as timely and effectively as possible.
“We will continue to provide updates as details are confirmed, via our Racer Alert system and official University social media platforms,” said a spokesperson of the office. “Information and instructions for Racer Alert notifications are available on the Racer Alert web page. This includes instructions for parents and family members who can sign up to receive emergency text messages.”
Some signers of the petition hope to see better and more timely communication from the University after the upcoming appointment of a new university president.
“Communication and transparency has never been good–typically atrocious–since my arrival on campus,” wrote signer Marcie. “I sure hope the new administration, whomever that is led by, assures better practices than the current.”
The petition can be found at: https://www.change.org/p/demand-accountability-for-murray-state-university-s-negligent-infrastructure.
