By David Fradkin, Transcript Correspondent
It has been almost a year since Ohio Wesleyan began constructing the new Small Living Units and it will not be long until they are all finished.
The first ‘SLUplex’ located at 118 Rowland Ave. is completed and occupied by members of both the Inter-Faith house (IF) and Sexuality and Gender Equality House (SAGE).
Senior Chase Smith, member and moderator of the IF house, said he will always miss and cherish the memories shared at 81 Oak Hill, but he is very thankful for their new one.
“The A.C. is wonderful, the natural lighting is wonderful and it’s located a lot closer which makes it feel like senior living,” Smith said. “I think it’s appropriate that I moved in here my senior year”.
Another complex is still under construction at 86 Rowland Ave., which will be occupied by members of the House of Peace and Justice (P&J) and the House of Linguistic Diversity (HOLD), which was formerly known as the Modern Foreign Language House.
Moderator of HOLD, junior Audrey Castaneda Walker, who established their SLU’s new name, said she is excited to move back to the house’s original location. While their new SLUplex is undergoing construction, they have been temporarily relocated to the old IF house.
“I’m never petty about a lot of things, but I am going to be petty about this: I just want my spot back,” Walker said. “I just want to be on the corner and that would be great.”
Walker was told their SLUplex should be done by Thanksgiving and they could move in at the beginning of the second semester.
Members of P&J currently reside at their 235 W. Williams St. location, but they said they are skeptical about the transition into the new SLUplex this winter.
“There is a little bit of a pushback in my house because [moving is] scary and we are very attached to our home,” said junior Rachel Scherrer, moderator of P&J.
Scherrer also said she feels like Residential Life is trying to push for a more residential campus, which might not be a bad thing, but some students did not seem to have much input on the decision for the SLU relocations.
“One thing that my house is trying to discuss right now … with ResLife is to get some transparency,” Scherrer said. “Just so they could tell us what’s happening so there could be an open line of communication.”
A third SLUplex is likely to be built between the other structures on Rowland Avenue, but the official plans have yet to be finalized.