A large piece of tile fell on my head while I was taking a shower in my less-than-luxurious Grant South dorm last week. That, coupled with daily doses of horrible food, makes me wonder: If students from each dorm pay about the same, why is everything in Grant Towers of far less quality then the rest of the residence halls?

The semester rates for each residence hall, according to the Housing and Dining Web site, are about the same. None of the price discrepancies exceed $100. The cost for a double room in Grant South is $3,024 per semester.

In contrast, the price for a double in Lincoln or Douglas hall costs $2,991 per semester. Although Lincoln and Douglas cost a bit less, the residents enjoy better food, cleaner hallways and larger rooms. Students living in the Grant Towers are paying a little more and getting less.

I quickly realized that I was not the only person experiencing this frustration.

“There could be some improvements made to Grant South,” said Eric Meyer a freshman nutrition, dietetics and hospitality administration major and Grant Tower South resident.

However, Eric is trying to be realistic about the situation.

“[Grant] is an old building, and improvements take time,” Meyer said. “I would like to see some, though.”

There are a few changes in the works, said Erik White, Grant Towers South hall council secretary.

“Some of our members are trying to fix up Grant,” White said.

White also said the status quo of Grant will remain the same unless students make their voices heard.

“We really need the support of residents,” White said. “All they do is complain, and no one does anything.”

All students deserve to have equally comfortable living arrangements. If we, as students, are paying the same amount of money, we should receive the same level of quality regardless of which residence hall we live in.

In Grant, the rooms are smaller, the showers have paint falling from the ceiling, and many of the tiles are missing, like the one that fell on me. The overall quality of Grant Towers does not compare to the other dorms, some of which are cheaper.

Furthermore, since each residence hall has a dining hall, shouldn’t each have the same quality of food? In theory, it shouldn’t matter which hall you eat in. However, all of the dining halls are not created equal. Many Grant residents, including myself, migrate over to Lincoln and Douglas for better food every day.

Although I am sure Housing and Dining is doing everything it can, something needs to be done to improve Grant Towers.

Little changes make a big difference. If slight changes were made, Grant South residents would be able to enjoy the same quality of living as the students in other dorms. Inexpensive changes such as painting the walls and cleaning the elevators from time to time go a long way. Hopefully, once these little changes go into effect, future students won’t have pieces of tile falling on them.