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news
Interior
face-lift begins in dorms
By Adrienne
Figueroa
Summer On-line Forty-Niner
Construction on
the Parkside Commons dorms began this week, adding new bedrooms
to accommodate approximately 135 new residents this fall.
The move has sparked
much controversy over the past several months because the
new bedrooms will replace the dorms' common rooms -- areas
within each suite designed for the purpose of studying, dining
and socializing.
Some students have
complained not only of the elimination of living space, but
of the short notice they received in regard to the change.
Junior biology
major and Parkside Commons resident Heidi Ramer vehemently
opposed the way in which the notification to residents was
presented at a Spring '02 Associated Students Inc. meeting.
She said that some
students were given a copy of a map detailing the new outlook
for the suites along with the contract to renew their leases.
Some students were given less than a week to decide if they
wanted to continue to live in the dorm, and in Ramer's case,
she was given one day, she said.
"It's a rather
big decision to make within a week whether you're going to
find an apartment or whether you're going to stay in the dorms.
We were really outraged by this," Ramer said during an
emotional speech at an A.S.I. meeting last March. Stan
Olin, interim director of Housing and Residential Life, said
that the common room conversion is necessary in order to accommodate
a large influx of students seeking on-campus housing.
Currently, there
are 5,500 applicants for fall residence in all dorms on campus,
but just slightly over 1900 beds available. However, the number
of applicants is not reflective of how many of these students
will actually come to Cal State Long Beach because some people
apply to several schools at once before making a final decision
for the fall semester, Olin said.
Students who resided
at Parkside Commons in the spring and are unsatisfied with
the conversion have been given priority in relocating to the
Residence Commons, a dorm with the common room setup, Olin
said.
Meanwhile, at Parkside
Commons, renovations will include a permanent study hall in
the central lounge, an increase in vending machines, new seating
and television sets in the laundry rooms and an addition of
furniture and DVD players in the TV lounges.
Despite the added
perks to compensate for the loss of suite common rooms, there
is the possibility that the dorm's tighter living quarters
may impose stress among its inhabitants.
"I think there's
the potential for anything happening, like unhappiness,"
said Clyde Crego, director of Counseling and Psychological
Services at CSULB.
Students sometimes
have difficulty in adjusting to dorm life because many are
used to their own rooms and their own autonomy at home, he
said.
Although the new
construction will remove some living space for students, Crego
said some dorm situations on other campuses are much worse,
with much tighter living quarters.
Because no one
enjoys forfeiting living space, there has been much effort
in renovating certain areas of the dorms, Olin said.
"I'm trying
to make the central TV lounge a more desirable place to go,"
he said.
Consolidating space
in the dorms is not an issue that affects just CSULB, but
the entire state, Olin added.
"It's a little
chaotic right now," Olin said.
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