Junior Tanyetta Sanders began her Friday morning class watching a ceiling leak in her Malmberg classroom.

“The only thing they did about [the leak] was put a trashcan under it,” she said.

“They” are whoever is responsible to fix the many problems that both teachers and students say have plagued the building and its classrooms for years. Things are so bad, that teachers have begun a petition drive so the administration can move faster to make repairs.

Sanders signed the petition for Malmberg Hall renovations.

The petition, which more than 150 students signed in two days, wants to change the “instructional environment in Malmberg Hall.”

One of the major complaints stated in the petition is “excessive sound from neighboring classrooms, especially for MH 114, 115, and 116,” which contains cloth dividers instead of walls.

“My class is constantly disrupted by the classes surrounding mine,” Sanders said.

Dr. Elizabeth Siemanowski, an associate professor of psychology, began the petition.

“I am not interested in pointing fingers or placing blame,” she said. “Rather, I hope to bring attention to a serious, long-standing problem on campus.”

Siemanowski said she has spoken several times to the administration, information technology and maintenance for five years.

“We typically receive a sympathetic, if not timely, response to the concerns we raise,” she said. “I believe we need a comprehensive approach to facility management with an emphasis on supporting instruction, [which is] the mission of our college.”

She said one of the main issues is the noise level from other classrooms.

“Noise travels freely from MH 115 and its neighboring rooms (MH 114 and 116),” she said. “It is impossible for students to concentrate on their instruction or tests over the noise generated from neighboring classrooms.”

Junior Kadijah Erskine signed the petition because of the excessive noise.

“It’s really distracting when you’re trying to take a test or learn and the elements are against you,” she said.

She said some rooms are too hot or too cold, there is noise from other classes and the gym noises from Malmberg’s gym.

“[Wesley should] not schedule the class times around each other or something,” she said.

Senior Jessica Balog signed the petition in Dr. Jack Barnhardt’s class.

“We were taking a test the other days and we could hear the other teacher,” she said.

Balog said she hoped Wesley could put in some new walls or a different barrier for the different classrooms, or to reschedule the classes to Cannon Hall or somewhere else.

“It would be beneficial if the classes [in Malmberg] had the same privacy as Cannon,” she said.

Siemanowski said she hopes enough students sign the petition so that changes can be made.

“It is my hope that if students raise their voices to protest current classroom conditions, their many voices will be heard, since faculty members’ voiced concerns have not been addressed in an effective manner,” she said.

The petition also lists several other problems, including bad technology and lighting; missing furniture missing, or chairs and tables rearranged in a non-classroom setting; weight sounds from the gym; dripping water sounds from leaking pipes; stained or missing ceiling tiles; moldy carpets, particularly MH 113; uncleanable white boards, and clocks that won’t tell the right time.

“The lights – one doesn’t work and there’s always leakage in the Malmberg area,” senior Ada Guillen said.

Siemanowski hopes administration will create a plan that listed classroom instruction as the highest priority.

“I would like to see an individual tasked with assuring, at the beginning of each school day, that classrooms are functional – IT, lights, furniture, HVAC, etc.,” she said. “Additionally, no classes should be scheduled in MH 115. The Malmberg Hall classrooms are used formally and informally after class hours. I believe this should be curtailed.”

Siemanowski shared the petition with the entire faculty of Wesley.

“Several faculty members are sharing it with their students,” she said.

Siemanowski said she does not require students to sign the petition.

“I make it perfectly clear that students may choose to sign the petition or not,” she said. “It is their choice and there are no consequences for them, positive or negative, if they sign or not.”

Siemanowski said her goal is to allow students to voice their dissatisfaction.

“I want to increase student’s self-efficiency and empower them to ask for needed change,” she said.

Siemanowski said she hopes the conditions will change soon.

“I am tired of apologizing for Wesley College’s inability to provide my students with a functional classroom setting,” Siemanowski said. “Students and faculty deserve better.”