The South Hall building, home to the Reserve Officer Training Corps, will see much-needed renovations to the tune of about $16,000, said Associated Students of the University of Arizona President Erin Hertzog.

On a tour of the building conducted last week with Hertzog and UA President Robert Shelton, ROTC students and staff demonstrated their need for renovations, showing them carpets attached with duct tape and paint peeling off the walls.

“”It looked like people had lived there for a while,”” Shelton said.

“”The ROTC program on campus has a lot of maintenance components that haven’t been dealt with in a while,”” Hertzog said. “”Some students contacted me to help get funding, and the costs they were requesting are conservative.””

After the presentation, Shelton and Joel Valdez, senior vice president of business affairs, reviewed the budget and found the money to fund the renovations with little difficulty, Valdez said.

“”We gave about $16,000 as part of our building maintenance,”” Valdez said. “”The funding is not permanently in their budget, but was given this one time for renovations.””

As students were largely responsible for initiating the request, Hertzog said the money serves as a reminder of student power.

“”This really shows how well Dr. Shelton responds to the students, and how much power the students have on this campus,”” she said.

Now, just 10 days after releasing the money, Valdez said the South Hall building has already begun to receive renovations, including a new paint job in their lobby.

While requests like these come in often, Valdez said the South Hall was on the top of the renovation list. He also called for the delay of other projects until more money could be set aside for them.

“”The ROTC program is highly valued here,”” Shelton said. “”So if we can make a small investment to make them more comfortable, then, hey, let’s do it.””