Matt Barter

After publication of the article, MUN’s infrastructure woes (a tour), students and members of the community weighed in on social media.

Annabelle Kean states, “Though it may look abandoned, these are all very much places that students use every day, especially the tunnels!! It is very gross!! I do not miss being a student there in the slightest.”

Tristan Bailey says, “This is Terrible, but yet the president can spend $60,000 on office renovations and has the nerve to raise tuition.”

Jess Young says that she “loved online classes really because I didn’t have to see all the grossness across campus!!”

Chelsea Lahey states, “And these aren’t just weird, ‘abandoned’ areas of the university, they’re places that students walk through and pass by every day on their way to class.”

Sarah Power says, “Okay, I knew MUN was gross, but I was still shocked at some of these pics…”

Emilee Farrell-Foley states, “I cannot live, laugh, love in these conditions. On a serious note, for the people who are not on campus every day and do not believe us when we talk about the awful conditions our campus is in….”

Cassidy Barry states, “This is sadly only a fraction of the problems at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Patric McGrath started MUN in 2014, and most of these issues have existed since he started there and clearly haven’t been touched seven years later. This is why students are angry about the spending going on. How can you say year after year that there isn’t money to fix the very glaringly obvious infrastructural issues throughout the entire campus yet find $60k to decorate office spaces? A tuition hike is outrageous when money is being absolutely squandered and wasted by the president rather than being put to use to benefit to students paying for the education from this institution.”

Megan Elliott says, “The sad reality of what I would walk through daily while at MUN.”

Melissa Dalley notes, “When people ask me why I left NL and didn’t go to MUN, I’m just going to show them this.”

Paulette Andrews states, “I attended MUN back in the 70s. It makes me wonder how much of the budget went back into repairs and upkeep. It looks like none since I left. Time to start before it’s beyond repair. Ridiculous!”

Terra Pierce says, “Let’s just put up the tuition and renovate offices but leave the students to learn on a campus that looks like this. LOL, sickening.”

Sarah Dawe says, “Heaven forbid Vianne’s office not be aesthetically pleasing, though.”

Angela Short states, “This is absolutely disgusting, so sad to pay loads of money for an education and get to learn in this!”

Zoey Healey says, “When your university looks more like a haunted house attraction than an educational institution.”

Nikki Fiona Carlaw states, “Not to mention the broken elevator in the Atrium… that’s been inaccessible for four years!!! Why wasn’t it fixed during the pandemic?? They’ve been told to put a fire under their ass and get it done, but the horrible part about it is that anyone with disabilities are unable to get to the fifth floor in this building (where the dean’s office is located). This breaks so many moral and ethical codes & is unacceptable.”

Danielle Coates says, “Can you guess how much I pay to go to school in this?! TOO MUCH.”

Rachel McLean says, “All of which was there the year I started university in 2015, and still there almost three years post convocation!”

Jean Stares says, “I see this daily, really, really gross. Especially in the MUNnels.”

Andréa Leigh states, “Many or most of the fountains on campus are unusable. When I lived in residence on campus, my transportation was the MUNnels. Personally, it was anxiety-inducing to walk through them every day, and many bathrooms I refrain from using because there’s fear something will fall on me at any moment. The president can spend thousands of dollars while remaining silent about the tuition hike, while the buildings-students are paying even more money to attend to-are caving in on us. This is something I don’t comprehend. Yes, it is very much possible tuition was increased to pay for fixes of the building seen here, then we ask, why was there so much money spent on the president’s new office, where did the money come from, and when did fancy decor become a priority?”

Holly Alexandra asks, “How is that school still allowed to be open in that insanely bad and unsafe condition? Asbestos? That’s a big no no. Not good enough.”

Matt Barter is a fourth-year student in the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. He enjoys reading thought-provoking articles, walks in nature, and volunteering in the community.