By Jacob Beach
Transcript Correspondent
The last time this much construction took place in and around the halls of Stuyvesant was nearly 85 years ago when the building first underwent construction.
A 2009 report published by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools said that Stuyvesant needed to be renovated due to a lack of repairs to the residence hall. It also mentioned that there have been a lot of complaints from the student body which have been documented in the meeting minutes of the Facilities and Student Affairs Committees of the Board of Trustees. The report said that the number one student issue is the poor condition of the residence halls and is in need for immediate action.
With construction of the hall nearly complete and occupants moved-in the reception of the renovation is mixed.
“First impressions were good,” said junior Olivia Gillison, a resident of Stuyvesant. “It looked like they had done a lot and put the effort into making it a nicer building.”
In a statement released earlier this year by the Residential Life Office, much of the new features were designed with students and community in mind. These include the new entrance on the east side of the building which was designed for easy access by students who walk to the Stuyvesant hall from the academic side of campus.
The interior of the rooms have been changed as well. The biggest change in the rooms can be found in the bathroom layout, where the sinks are now found in the rooms, one in each side of the suite. According to a report from the Residential Life Office, the closets were redesigned so that students can customize and personalize their space with a hanging curtain.
Sophomore Thomas Dehaas said the rooms are very nice. They have nice walk-in showers, comfortable beds and the desks and dressers are new and very accommodating.
“I think some of the features they did well,” Gillison said. “But the inside is really where they skipped out on the best improvements. By removing the closets there is now less storage in this dorm than there is any other dorms on campus. I know being female I tend to have more things than most, but the lack of storage has cost me more money to try and store what I already had here at school.”
The Ground floor has a new main lounge, a community kitchen, vending rooms, meeting rooms, the Stuyvesant smoker, new public restrooms and an interior entrance to the student health center. At this point and time students are not allowed to access the ground floors, except to use the laundry room and the vending room.
Stuyvesant also includes a new air conditioning unit which supplies central air to the entire building.
A new public elevator was also installed to accommodate more students and make it easier to move large, bulky items.