Ainsley Lord

Guy Reel

MCOM 241- Media Writing

15 October 2021

Flooding, random fire drills, broken AC units- Winthrop University students are left

‘outraged’ that the higher-priced Courtyard residence hall has such frequent problems.

Winthrop University has met backlash following the repeated flooding of the Courtyard

residence hall. Honors students and upperclassmen, the majority of the students who live in

Courtyard, have been left confused that the higher-priced residence hall has been having such

frequent issues.

Maddie Andrews, a junior living on the first floor of Courtyard, said her room flooded

last year, and she’s seen 5 flooding incidents since she moved in.

“I think it is outrageous that I am paying for a residence hall that continues to have so

many issues,” Andrews said. “It’s sad that whenever something “crazy” happens at Courtyard, it

doesn’t even phase me because I’m used to things breaking.”

Senior Catherine Moorhouse has seen 6 flooding incidents since originally moving in,

and her room is one of those affected by the most recent flooding this year.

“Every time, it’s never properly taken care of. For example, no one checked the integrity

of the floors and someone fell through the floor,” Moorhouse added, referring to an accident that

occurred in Courtyard this semester. “And every time you bring it up to Res Life, you are treated

as an inconvenience.”
 However, flooding is not the only issue at Courtyard. Air conditioning issues have been

reported in multiple apartments, with temperatures reaching up to 80 degrees, and causing mold

growth in the bathrooms.

Taylor Belue, another Courtyard resident, did not seem to have a huge problem with the

accidents occurring, but rather how Winthrop University chose to handle those situations.

“I understand that things like this happen, and some of the incidents are out of the control

of Winthrop,” Belue said. “However, the way the situations have been handled are

unacceptable.”

Courtyard residents have reported very little being done to improve the residence hall,

despite repeated flooding issues and students still living in these conditions. Despite facilities

management offices being located just across the street, Courtyard residents have been left with

broken AC units for weeks at a time, and sometimes extensive water damage, with nothing being

done to fix the issues.

As for a message for Winthrop, many Courtyard residents want one thing- their residence

hall taken care of. Alex Turner, a junior who lives on the fourth floor, feels there is a lack of

respect from the university.

“Show us that you respect your students by maintaining your buildings,” Turner said.

“Courtyard is one of many and needs significant help.”

With the normal stresses of college life, unpredictable living conditions have made it

much harder for Courtyard residents to exceed as they would like to. Flooding, broken AC units,

random fire drills, and unstable floors are just a few of the issues that Courtyard has, and

students don’t feel they should have to be concerned for their safety in what’s meant to be their

home-away-from-home.