A 1,064 bed dorm with two residential Community Coordinator apartments, a new dining hall and rec center is scheduled for a spring 2010 completion. Photo by Ron Fu/Daily Titan Staff Photographer

By Portia Bode

Daily Titan Staff Writer

Residents of Cal State Fullerton’s dorms say they are frustrated by the explosion of construction surrounding them, but some say the extra housing will be a great addition once the construction is done.

“The fact that they’re building more (dorms) is a good thing,” said Kelsey Barr, a freshman art major. “It means we’ll have more room for more people to stay here. It’s really hard to get into the dorms. I’m glad for the construction, but at the same time, it can get a little obnoxious when walking to class.”

However, Barr said she is excited that more dorms are being built because it will give more students an opportunity to live on campus. Because dorm rooms are a limited commodity and CSUF is known as a commuter campus, the new construction will provide a richer college experience, she said.

The new construction, occurring on the eastern edge of campus near Lot E, began last semester and has plagued neighbors all semester. The dorm construction is occurring at the same time the university is building a new parking structure nearby, waking students at 7 a.m.

The parking structure is slated to be finished in spring 2010 while the dorms won’t be ready for occupancy until fall 2011. The new multiple five-story building complex will include 1,000 beds with double occupancy rooms and shared restrooms, lounges, study rooms and kitchenettes, according to university officials.

Trevor Spencer, a sophomore business major, thinks the construction could have been planned better by building the parking structure before they started building the dorms, so students would have a place to park while the older parking lot was taken out. “I think that would be a little bit better planning,” Spencer said.

Wendy Bedrosian, a sophomore in business administration, leaves her dorm less frequently because it is difficult to find a parking spot, she said. She was affected more by the noise last spring because she lived in the single dorms which are closer to the construction than the double-occupancy dorms where she currently lives.

“I think (the new dorms are) unnecessary considering the budget crisis right now with every school,” Bedrosian said. “It’s sad that they’re cutting classes and teacher’s jobs, but they’re still building 1,000 new dorms that are kind of unnecessary. This is a commuter school anyway.”

Darlene Stevenson, director of Housing and Residential Life, said, “Students would best be served by taking their classes between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. when there is the most activity around the construction site … If they can put their schedule in sync with the construction schedule, that would probably be to their best interest.”

She added that students should choose to move their cars during times when parking isn’t at a premium. “If they need to go to the grocery store or post office, it’s probably best for them to do it after 6 o’clock on weekdays and anytime on weekends; therefore, they wouldn’t be competing with regular campus parking issues.”

Stevenson said she hasn’t received any complaints directly from students regarding the new constructions. At this point, they have adjusted to the parking situation, Stevenson said.
Lacey Califano, a freshman biochemistry major, lives in one of the dorms closest to the construction site. She isn’t bothered by the construction, except for some mornings when she hears the pounding.
Califano suggests students go to sleep earlier in order to wake up before the early morning construction begins.

“We’re kind of fortunate in a way that the major structural component of those dorm buildings are cement blocks, so you have masonry with masons setting cement blocks, so … it’s not very noisy and that’s a plus,” said Michael Smith, director of design and construction. “The construction project is going very smoothly, and it’s on schedule.”