Residence halls receive a facelift

Over the summer many upgrades have been made to the residence halls on campus. They are designed to increase comfort and convenience for students staying on campus. 

Student Affairs Employee Gregg Heinselman was in charge of overseeing the project.

“This summer we focused our efforts on two primary projects: west side residence hall landscaping improvements and Hathorn Hall west wing renovations including bathrooms, doors, etc…,” Heinselman said.

At the conclusion of each school year a number of community and environmental surveys are conducted of the students whom are residents on campus to determine where improvements could be made. One of the biggest improvements is the restoration of the bathrooms and doors in Hathorn Hall.

“The bathrooms in Hathorn Hall are original to the age of the facility and are in need of repair,” Heinselman said. “Hathorn East wing will be upgraded summer of ‘08 to compliment the upgrades we accomplished this past summer.”

Along with the interior renovations, landscaping has been added to the outside of Hathorn to provide a more attractive environment for students to compliment the interior changes.

“There are a lot of different things,” sophomore resident Jake Kresel said. “They have newer furniture and they fixed the lighting in the dorms that were a problem last year.”

Hathorn Hall is the first residence hall to receive the upgrades, and once finished the other nine residence halls will be getting similar upgrades. Due to the time and costs of the upgrades, they were put on a 20 year plan to address and complete all of the facility renovations.

Heinselman is acting as the director of Residence Life for the fall semester until January when Sandra Scott Duex assumes the position. Duex is currently serving as the associate director of Residence Life at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

“She brings twenty two years of experience working in the Residence Life profession and is currently chairing the Certification Task Force for the Association of College and University Housing Officers International,” Heinselman said.

Along with the upgrades to the interior and exterior of the residence hall, Frednet has set up wireless internet. Paul Bladl is the network administrator for Frednet and overseer of the new addition.

The residence halls are equipped with the wireless internet in specific areas of the halls. It is located in study lounges, lobbies and TV lounges. Coverage is not available everywhere and does not work in dorm rooms due to interference.  Each room needs a separate server from which to connect.

“Wireless internet is only guaranteed in areas that have a sign with the instructions and a message saying we guarantee coverage,” Bladl said.

For the dorm rooms, students are supplied two wired ports and ports will be provided to those students who are staying in temporary housing.

“Wireless servers brought into the dorms are banned by the university due to the interference it causes,” Bladl said.

Improvements to the dorms and to the internet services will continue to progress in the years to come.

Chancellor Betz emphasized how important the upgrades to the facilities are to the students and the University community.

“These improvements are important to our students and provide more attractive and functional surroundings, “ Betz said. “The additions and upgrades to the campus were implemented for the comfort and convenience of the students and it is the administrative goal that it encourages all to take care of the campus facilities.”