By Joy Dimasaya
A recent investigation discovered that a colony of termites infested the Samukan University (SU) Haggard Hall, damaging hundreds of student records and documents, according to the Office of Registrar’s Roundabout and Monitoring (ORRM).
The report was made after several students and parents filed official complaints on “mismanagement” of submitted documents that were allegedly lost inside the record’s archive room.
In a press release dated March 31, ORRM Internal Chief Dr. Sana Ikauren explained the issue.
“The university is doing its best to not only resolve the infestation problem, but to also rehabilitate the structural integrity of Haggard Hall,” Ikauren said.
Following the investigation, multiple remedial measures had been taken such as do-it-yourself treatments, scattering bait food for the termites around the perimeter of the building, and the relocation of termite-eating bats to Haggard Hall.
“There is also an on-going effort to transfer as many documents as humanly possible to a temporary office, however, the lack of manpower is making the process slow and tedious,” Ikauren noted.
Despite these measures, the problem is yet to be solved and the ORRM is reportedly losing around a hundred student documents each day from the infestation.
Infestation draws flak
Milo Makastres, a senior student, took his frustration to Reddith after being a victim of the catastrophe.
“Hapit na graduation pero kulang-kulang pa akong required documents. Tapos madugayan pa ko kung mu-request ko usab sa akong previous school,” he wrote.
(The graduation is nearing but I still lack some required documents. And it would take me a long time to request new copies of it from my previous school.)
He emphasized that it “wasn’t his fault” as he had submitted all necessary requirements on time.
From a survey conducted by the SU Sige’g Gmail (SUSG) to quantify the extent of the infestation damage, 69-percent of the student body shared similar sentiments as Makastres, most of whom are also senior students.
Digitization of records
When asked about setting initiatives to prevent future infestations, the ORRM stated that the matter is yet to be discussed with the administration, further fueling anxiety among the students.
“We already have our hands full trying to figure out how to stop the infestation at hand, so we don’t have the time to think about preventive initiatives yet,” Ikauren declared.
However, he stated that the office has been going through a “rigorous” digitization process to forgo the need for physical documentation, to organize their archives, and to increase efficiency.
“We were already pressed for time as it is because we’re trying to digitize everything within a year, but this infestation issue sets us back even further,” he explained.
As of writing, around 800 files have been destroyed by the termite infestation since it was discovered last week, however, the number is speculated to be closer to a thousand.
This is a developing story.
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