Berkeleyites brave construction oversights

JOHN YI/YH When students returned, areas such as the basketball court were still under construction.

At first sight, Steve Miller, BK '00, was impressed with his spanking new Berkeley room. It was spacious, with a freshly waxed floor and untouched furniture. After sleeping cheek-to-cheek with insects and putting up with the bad plumbing and wiring in the old Berkeley, Miller's new room was a major improvement. "And then I noticed that my closet had a large hole in the wall, and bare wires were hanging from the ceiling to about eye level," he said. Though the wires were fixed a few days later, the hole still remains in Steve's closet.

Throughout brand new Berkeley College, the story is the same: students are generally happy with the larger suites and extra singles. However, living amidst ongoing construction has provided countless minor annoyances for the residents of Berkeley.

The blueprints for Berkeley called for the addition of fire doors that could either be deactivated to increase the size of suites or activated to decrease the size. Now, many rooms have former fire doors for entrances, and unfortunately, some fire doors were not turned off before students arrived. When Saul Rosser, BK '01, attempted to open the door to his bedroom for the first time, he heard the alarm. "Security came and turned the alarm off," he said. "But I couldn't get into my room until much later."

While some fire doors were mistakenly activated, most of the alarms were off, including some doors that should have been armed. Between Entryways D and E in South Court, a fire door separating two rooms is still turned off. Though many fire doors have since been properly programmed, some bathrooms have doors opening directly into the suites. In Miller's suite, the door to the bathroom lock m inside his bedroom. But in some bathrooms, the door leading to the suite locks from the bathroom side—meaning anyone who comes into the bathroom can enter the suite.

Nicole Derbyshire, BK '01, also had problems with her suite's bathroom. "I love our suite, but the bathroom situation is unacceptable," she said. When her suitemates moved in, there were no doors or even curtains on the shower stalls, and the cluttered bathroom has yet to be cleared of construction debris.

Another unpleasant side effect of the construction is the loud noise that accompanies trucks, jackhammers, and other power tools. According to Julie Rosenthal, BK '01, a resident of Entryway I in North Court, there has been early activity every morning. "I woke up today to a truck backing up. The other day it was a chainsaw," she said.

Though students have been making numerous calls to maintenance about their problems, response has been slow, due to the many other unfinished construction tasks. A leaking heater on the second floor of South Court that was reported last week has still not been fixed, despite numerous calls to Berkeley's construction office and Physical Plant.

While the minor annoyances persist, many Berkeley students eagerly await the completion of the basement, a vast facility which includes basketball courts, an activity center, and a large game room. "I really like the new Bagel Bar area," said James Chang, BK '01, referring to Berkeley's snack bar. Director of Facilities Kemel Dawkins said that the work in Berkeley's basement would be complete in the next few weeks.

One major aspect of the construction that was completed on time was the dining hall, which was received very well. The renovation opened up the kitchen to create a large self-serve area, a balcony was built to expand seating, and all the chairs and tables were refurbished. The new dining hall opened up for dinner on Wed., Sept. 1 to rave reviews. "The food layout was well done, yet retained the Berkeley feel with the chairs and tables," Chang said.

Several students expressed surprise that the construction is as yet incomplete. "They had a year," said Saul Rosser, "why aren't they done?"

"I'm very surprised that it's not finished," Justine Lutterodt, BK '01, agreed..

Though some closets still have holes, some bathrooms still lack shower doors, and the peepholes on several doors are no more than drilled-out holes, a majority of Berkeley students remain optimistic and very happy with their rooms. "I love the place now, and I'll love it even more when it's finished," Derbyshire said.

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