Last week, asbestos was found in the basement of Coolidge Hall. This area of Coolidge Hall is reserved for UVMtv, and whatever else ResLife deems worthy. Without telling students or resident advisors in Coolidge, ResLife removed UVMtv from their space and brought in a HazMat team to deal with the asbestos. We see multiple errors in what ResLife decided to do and we fault the ResLife staff for neglecting the safety of the residents and resident advisors of Coolidge Hall. The first error was ResLife keeping students in the dark over the contamination of their home with carcinogenic substances. This, especially in the day and age we live in, is completely irresponsible and quite shocking. If this was to occur in a landlord/tenant environment, legal action might be taken against the landlord. In another error, ResLife Director Stacey Miller has told The Cynic that since the asbestos was contained, it posed no health threat to the residents of Coolidge Hall. However, Cynic reporter Christina Todd, when researching the asbestos story, was able to gain access to the contaminated area through multiple unlocked doors. The one thing ResLife seems to be unable to comprehend is, if a student has any desire to get into an area, they will get into an area. Whether it is a residential hall at 3 a.m. or a “contaminated” area at 1 p.m. There is no way that ResLife can conclusively and definitely seal the area from any student exposure. If there was a way, we certainly hope it would have already been put into effect.. ResLife, the only responsible action to take in matters of student safety is complete transparency. Your jobs are funded payments made by students and/or their parents. These people are paying your salary under the assumption that you will be keeping students safe in their residential halls. While students might not always need to know about every procedural matter that occurs in their dorm, if there is an issue with something like asbestos, students need to be kept fully aware. It’s the only responsible action by ResLife as a pseudo-landlord. ResLife, if you cannot maintain the transparency necessary to keep us safe and informed, we aren’t so sure you should continue to be paid with our money