This past Wednesday we were fortunate to gain access to the people who maintain our home here at Cornell everyday. The most interesting part of the talk to me was the way in which maintenance & facilities problems and concerns are addressed on a monetary basis. The budget is allotted based on the prevalence of issues displayed by online request data. I find that my fellow peers and myself are often hesitant to submit requests for issues that are not dramatic or don’t pose immediate consequences. I have now learned that it is bigger than a small annoyance in your day to day but it translates into allocated money in the budget for issues such as carpet cleaning, inadequate shower curtains, etc. I believe that Cornell and more specifically its residential life staff do not do enough to educate the students on the real life implications of submitting these online requests. If students were educated more effectively about how to get their concerns heard and addressed I genuinely believe that we would not only participate in the online forum more frequently but will be able to see real world solutions to our concerns. Another very striking point of the conversation is how much the facilities staff truly cares about and makes efforts to improve our living conditions. There is a great disconnect between college residents and those who upkeep the facilities they enjoy and use everyday. An initiative to bridge this disconnect in the form of conversation with staff and education about budgeting will likely benefit our community dramatically.