By admin 
Cockroaches and rats running around the building. Clogged sinks and discolored water flowing through the taps. Multiple wires and devices plugged into a single power outlet.
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Students in the art department at Sacramento State say the 64-year-old building that houses ceramics and printmaking studios, faculty offices, art history classrooms and a couple of galleries is in urgent need of repair.
This week, the department was told money allocated years ago for renovations at Kadema Hall — named after a Native American village that once stood in its place — was being pulled. In protest, some students chalked phrases like “broken promises” and “you stole our money” on the facade of the building Tuesday, as first reported by the campus newspaper, The State Hornet. Days later, campus administration clarified that their initial communication was an error. Those funds have not been revoked, but instead placed on hold as officials reassess increased costs and “update project estimates.”
“It’s not just that we’re being neglected,” one student in the department said. “But to know that there was money to help us, and they didn’t care enough to make sure things were taken care of was really what set the community ablaze.”
The Sacramento Bee decided not to publish their names after learning that a student received a disciplinary notice on allegations of destruction of property after the chalk protest. The notice cited the campus’ time, place and manner policy which restricts when, where and how students can hold protests and stated that sanctions up to expulsion may be imposed if the student is found responsible. The university did not respond when asked how many students had been sent similar notices.
By Thursday afternoon, all the chalk graffiti had been washed off the walls of Kadema Hall.
History of disrepair
Kadema Hall’s dire need of repair is not new or unknown information. As and as recently as , Sacramento State has included in its annual capital outlay plan a long-term future project to demolish Kadema Hall due to “poor building conditions” and replace it with a new performing arts center.
Beginning in the 2019-2020 school year, the university spent a few years renovating Kadema Hall using campus and state funds. This included building new restrooms, upgrading old fire alarm systems and the elevator, installing air conditioning and responding to other health, safety and accessibility issues, according to previous reporting in The State Hornet. The university spent $4.7 million on the project, but it was not enough.
In 2022, then-President Robert Nelsen announced in his fall address that $240,000 in one-time funds would be allocated from the campus’ reserves to finish renovations at Kadema Hall. That work included replacement of unsafe cabinetry, sinks, electrical panels, ceiling panels, doors, doorways and a damaged printing press, per the 2022-2023 budget. Of that amount, approximately $94,000 has been expended to date, leaving a balance of $146,000.
A faculty member who was not officially authorized to speak on the topic told The Sacramento Bee that critical health and safety issues persist. Wood rot has made some cabinets in the ceramics studio an attractive home for cockroaches and mice, they said, leaving those areas lined with rodent droppings and mold. A lack of sediment traps means the sinks and drains are frequently clogged, creating a breeding ground for mosquitos. Without wall outlets in some studios, the students are forced to plug in equipment, lamps and other devices through multiple extension cords from one surge protector, they said.
“The university has had people come in and do inspections and say this isn’t okay and there are things that need to be fixed,” another student in the department said. “We’ve even been told, ‘OK, they’re going to do it over the summer,’ and then it never gets done.”
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The faculty member said the department had requested a timeline of when the remaining renovations would be completed several times over the last four years. The delay, the faculty member said, could have been due to staff turnover in the facilities department, change in contractors and increasing construction costs over time.
On Sept. 25, the department received an email saying a request to carry over the remaining funds allocated for Kadema Hall repairs and two other projects into the 2026-2027 budget year had been rejected by the budget office. The email from administration acknowledged it was “disappointing news, particularly for projects that have been in progress for some time” and encouraged departments to identify alternative funding sources if they wanted to continue those projects.
About a week later, on Thursday, the department received an email from campus leadership stating the previous correspondence was an error. The funds had not been revoked but only held for review to better understand the department’s needs, leadership said. No further details on next steps or a timeline were communicated.
‘Very disrespectful’
Not all art students at Sacramento State are having the same experience. In 2025, Sacramento State unveiled a new, 20,000-square-foot, $18.5 million Art Studio Lab to replace the old Art Sculpture Lab. It had served as a California Department of Fish and Wildlife warehouse from 1951 until 1971 before the university acquired it.
The new lab houses technician and faculty offices, graduate student’s individual studios, and shops and studios for sculpture, painting and drawing. The art department’s operations are primarily housed in the Art Studio Lab and Kadema Hall. While one is brand new and has large windows, a lobby gallery, a 3D technology lab and an outdoor sculpture yard, the other is decades-old and in a state of disrepair.
A student in the Wileety Native American College at Sacramento State said they were particularly bothered by the fact that a building named after the village of a Native American tribe that once stood there had been treated “with such disregard.” Kadema Hall was named for a Nisenan Maidu village that once stood on the site. Sacramento State occupies land that was home to the Nisenan, Patwin, Miwok, Wintu and Maidu tribes of Native Americans.
“Compared to other buildings on campus, none of them are as run-down as Kadema Hall,” the student said. “It feels very disrespectful that you’re trying to name (the building) to honor these people, but then treating it with such disregard.”
What next?
In a statement, Sacramento State spokesperson Wendy Aguilar said the university takes concerns about student learning environments, health and safety seriously. She added that the facilities team had indicated there were no known conditions within the ceramics studios that pose an immediate danger to students, faculty or staff.
“The funds have not been formally denied or reallocated, and next steps will be coordinated with the appropriate campus areas,” Aguilar said.
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