NOAH FISHMAN, Staff Writer—
While the fall semester has only just started, there are some students who must relocate in just a few months. When Isa Small, a sophomore from Cleveland, was going through her housing selection process, she selected King Hall saying, “they told us when we selected King, it’s getting renovated next semester so you’ll have to move out. King was not our first choice but my roommate and I wanted to stay together.”
Living on South Quad has not been much of a sacrifice in Isa’s eyes, in fact, she’s actually seen a lot of great benefits that her previous dorm didn’t have, saying, “King is a lot less crowded than Crawford, and South Quad is a lot quieter than East Quad.” “We have a lot more access to the kitchen because we’re not sharing with as many people and we’ve been able to cook a lot more.” These positives have helped with her transition to living down the hill, however, a recent announcement to the King Hall residents has left some quite unhappy.
Velvet Sellers, sophomore from Toledo, said, “They told us that they want us to move out as soon as possible, and that they would be starting construction in October.” Sellers articulated that the information about new housing was inconsistent, saying, “We had a meeting, but afterwards they sent out an email which had different information than in the meeting.” This has caused confusion and uncertainty for Sellers, impacting her feelings about Denison Residential Communities and Housing, saying, “It’s been a really irritating, stressful process because they put us at the bottom of the waiting list for new rooms.”
King Hall renovations have created controversy with its current residents, but measures are being taken to assist these students and combat any negative effects of the construction. “They will be offering wellness kits,” explained Small, “things like earplugs and sleep masks to help us not be as bothered by the construction.” On top of this, Denison will provide shuttles for King Hall’s residents to move their belongings at the end of the semester.
While Small does not feel much animosity surrounding the circumstances, she dealt with RCH last year due to a broken ankle. “I ended up taking a medical leave to do physical therapy and heal,” said Small. “They wanted to move someone else into my room, even though I was planning on coming back for the spring semester, and my roommate and I knew we wanted to live together.” Ultimately Small and her roommate were able to stay together, but the circumstances added a lot of stress to her recovery process.
With construction beginning this month, the residents of King Hall have a heavier load to carry, but hopefully with Denison’s help, their transition will be smooth.