For many students, paying out of pocket for dorm room damages at the end of each academic year is nothing new. Residential Life charges students for repairs about as often as it rains — and still, some students incur fees year-round, including fees that entire buildings are charged for damage to communal space. Members of the Student Association say they are tired of grappling with this issue.

So what exactly is the policy for dorm repair fees?

“It depends,” according to Rene Coderre, assistant director of Residential Life. “There is a table that is set up by Physical Facilities as to how much material and labor will cost.”

Essentially, the process for issuing damage fees to students is a predetermined code system with flat fees for every possible repair scenario.

According to Coderre, while there is no charge for something like a paint rip due to poster damage, fixing or replacing a substantial component of the room, such as a door lock, will set the average student back a substantial amount.

Coderre broke down the costs involved in this type of repair, referred to as a “code 369,” into three categories: labor ($46.94), parts and materials ($12.72) and $11.93 for what he described as “administrative costs,” or what Binghamton University spends in time and paperwork. Grand total: $71.59, surely a blow to any co-ed’s wallet.

Although this particular fee may seem high and the process cumbersome, Residential Life is not entirely insensitive.

“At the end of the year, we don’t charge for normal wear,” explained Coderre. “When you live in a place for a year, there are just some things that happen,” such as “cleaning dust bunnies.”

In the same vein, however, Residential Life’s sympathy for Joe SUNY’s spills and messes has its limits.

“If someone has a keg party and there’s some sludge left on the floor, there’s going to be an extra cost.”

And what fate befalls the rebellious Bearcat who defies the system and swears that kiddie-pool-gone-wrong under his bed never belonged to him? His name is added to the University’s list of delinquent debts — the same fate reserved for those with outstanding parking tickets, overdue library books and day-late tuition bills.

Far from being sent to debtor’s prison somewhere deep in Australia, students with delinquent debts are barred from registering for courses and accessing their grades. They are threatened with dis-enrollment from current courses, and of course, general public scorn.

But what if the damage in question involves common space?

According to Coderre, the total cost of repair could be dispersed among the building’s residents. This was the case in College in the Woods’ Mohawk Hall last semester, where residents were charged $12 each for repairs to a first floor set of double doors that totaled approximately $3,500.

“It’s something they were pretty up in arms about,” said Coderre of the fee charged to Mohawk residents. “Damage is damage. Someone has got to pay for it.”

“It’s pretty outrageous,” said Chris Strub, Mohawk resident and SA representative for CIW. “$500 went to administrative fees.”

Strub, who co-authored a resolution last week regarding residence hall repair fees, wants students to be able to receive as much information as possible about any and all fees they might incur as a result of room damage.

The resolution, entitled “The $5,000 Door,” accuses administrators of “simply dup[ing]” students into paying for repairs, and highlights the Mohawk incident as “certainly just one of dozens of instances where residence hall residents have been charged for costly repairs without being notified of the explicit costs.”

“I think students deserve to know where their money is going,” said Strub. “If students receive specific explanations, they’re more likely to appeal. At least they will know what they’re paying for.”

Ultimately, it is this notion that drives Strub’s resolution, which calls for “an accompanying letter detailing each item or service … to be sent to every resident that is being charged.”

“Most [charges] do get overturned,” said Coderre on the possibility of contesting a repair fee. “We wouldn’t bill if there wasn’t a reason for it.”

Unfortunately for Mohawk’s residents, the repair of their infamous “$5,000 door” was not one of those fortuitous occasions.