Students voice concerns over swing space living

Despite its air conditioning, kitchenettes, and internal bathrooms, the Swing Space has received lukewarm reviews from its residents.

For some Berkeley students, the very newness of the Swing Space is a detraction. "It's a really nice building but nothing could substitute for living in a college. It lacks tradition and history and all the little oddities of a residential college," said Beth Goldstein, BK '01.

And for others, safety has become a nagging concern since the building lies on the outskirts of campus. "I feel pretty safe walking back in a group, but I don't feel safe walking back alone. Some of my friends and I have already had incidents where we were harassed and felt unsafe at night," Claire Cherlin, BK '01, said. She noted that the surrounding streets are usually deserted at night. "The University really needs to either station police officers in those areas at night or take some other security measures," Cherlin said.

Swing space residents have also been dismayed by the lack of a dining hall to call their own--a reserved section of Commons currently serves as Berkeley's dining hall. While Berkeley Dean Laurence Winnie said that he enjoyed taking his meals in the reserved section of Commons, many students were generally dissatisfied with Yale's attempt to accommodate Berkeley students in Commons. "I do think we need a dining hall. Commons is not sufficient... We don't have our own serving lines," Theresa Gan, BK '00, said. " We just have this shoddy little area in Commons... It's like a Berkeley quarantine," Jon Yasgur, BK '99, added.

That said, swing space residents aren't totally dissatisfied with their new living quarters. "I'm not overwhelmingly impressed," Yasgur admitted. "But I've been enjoying the air conditioning, the spacious bedrooms, and making fun of the furniture with my friends." John Mezquia, BK '01, added, "It's really homey, it's a lot more practical in terms of living than all the other dorms...It's like a regular apartment."

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