Students living in residence halls who are going home this summer to Maine or Florida, or anywhere else in the world, may have to find a new place to store their hefty items during the summer months.

Director of Residence Randy Alexander met with students and members of the Inner Residence Hall Association on Tuesday to discuss the concerns associated with residence hall storage rooms, including student liability problems and possible solutions for the problems.

Ryan Dea, president of Cessna Floor in Larch Hall, said Alexander wants to eliminate student access to storage areas during the summer.

“He had a real big liability issue and I think that was the main problem,” Dea said.

Dea said students living in the residence halls during fall and spring semesters sign a form stating they understand the university is not responsible for students’ items when they leave for winter break. He said, therefore, most students realize the university is not responsible for these items during the summer as well.

Alexander said he plans to talk with IRHA president Rob Wiese and later hopes IRHA will form a committee to further examine the issue.

Wiese said there probably will not be enough time to form committees. He said if storage is not available this summer, he hopes the residence halls can help students rent a commercial block of storage units.

“We need to have this ironed out by the end of February,” he said.

Wiese said although the final decision is up to Alexander, he hopes students in IRHA can come up with a workable solution.

“I want a list on paper of the current problems and hopefully IRHA can develop something that works,” he said. “I doubt the residence halls will do away with summer storage — my guess is that it will be more structured.”

Dea said he and other students are concerned about people living on upper-level floors in new RCA. He said the lofts on eighth floor are too large to fit in an elevator and must be carried down the stairs, which could also cause liability problems.

For students who will return in the fall, especially from out of state, not having summer storage available could be an inconvenience, he said.

Dea said several students suggested Alexander make a formal contract for students wanting to use storage areas in the summer.

“I think students would probably want to pay a little extra (for the storage area) — it’s a total convenience,” Dea said. “We’re used to it. The current system is working for us. The university is here to serve the students.”

Dea said on some floors, custodians don’t have enough room to store supplies and that may be a safety hazard. He said summer storage rooms may be used for these items.

Dea said there is also a large problem with people leaving large belongings when they permanently move out.

Although the storage situation is in preliminary stages, Angie Chipman, an intramural chair for Larch Hall, said the future for summer storage looks grim.

“I think Randy Alexander had his mind made up before the meeting,” Chipman said. “Students gave a list of ways to solve the problem, but he wants to do it his own way.”