Thursday, January 29, 1998
Residents complain about paying for lack of services
DYKSTRA: Irate students seek compensation for inconvenient
disruption
By Scot Sargeant
Daily Bruin Contributor
As deadlines roll over, and construction continues, the tempers
of Dykstra Hall residents rise.
The construction on Dykstra, which began last fall, has taken
away services such as a dining hall, hot water and normal walkways,
causing students to demand compensation.
Tuesday night, students finally had the chance to air their
complaints, while Alan Hanson, director of Residential Life and
Michael Foraker, director of housing tried to provide answers.
"I don’t think that we were fairly warned of exactly how much
construction was going to happen, and I don’t think we’re getting
fair compensation for what we’re going through," said Tammy Low,
publicity chair for the Dykstra Hall Residents’ Association
(DHRA).
"I’m paying the same amount of money as students in other halls,
to live in less-than-standard conditions," said Bobby Kalaf, a
member of DHRA.
Currently, Dykstra residents don’t have a dining hall, music
practice room, study lounge, computer lab, room for programming
activities, or mailboxes.
In the meeting, held at the Bradley International Center,
Foraker responded to complaints by saying that no form of
compensation is possible, citing budgetary concerns.
"We can’t provide rebates or discounts. I wish we could. We’re
an enterprise, and we receive no money from the state of
California, or the campus," Foraker said.
"I wish we had a subsidization program to ease the lives of our
students, but there isn’t any way to provide grants," he
continued.
Students questioned if any form of compensation other than
monetary would be possible. The directors, however, said that
compensation was very unlikely. Other ideas for compensation
included free laundry, extra funding for program activities, and
grocery stipends.
"There are a variety of people on the staff of the Office of
Residential Life who are looking at ways to work with the elected
student leaders here to try to increase the quality of life,"
Foraker continued.
Another area of controversy is the "dog" walk, as it is called
by Dykstra residents. They are referring to the narrow, fenced
pathway that students must walk through to get to Dykstra’s
entrance.
Students complain that the pathway isn’t lit well enough and
isn’t safe enough.
Suzanne Seplow, Dykstra director for Residential Life, said that
security guards have been hired to patrol the area between 7 p.m.
and 3 a.m.
Students also expressed concern that a fire hazard may exist
because the walkway is too narrow.
Hanson responded that this was under the jurisdiction of the
UCLA fire department and therefore couldn’t explain any planned
escape routes.
This walkway is eventually supposed to be supplemented with a
pathway from Dykstra’s entrance leading to Circle Drive West. It is
unknown if the construction of the pathway will impact
students.
The delays in construction have prompted residents to question
if any of the deadlines will be adhered to. Circle Drive West,
which was supposed to reopen in November, remains closed.
Foraker asserted that time had been lost when improper maps of
UCLA’s utility lines were provided, saying that this caused a delay
of approximately three weeks.
He went on to explain that the construction is divided into two
phases. The first phase, which is still in progress, is scheduled
to be completed at the end of March, according to Foraker.
After completion, Circle Drive West will reopen.
The second phase, which has yet to be contracted out, will
involve the construction of De Neve Plaza. This will commence as
soon as the first phase is completed.
The projected deadline for finishing the entire project is fall
1999. Hanson said that this would be necessary in order to house
students for the 1999-2000 academic year.
Students also complained about the lack of hot water that
Dykstra has experienced lately.
"It isn’t fair that we’re forced to take cold showers," said
Chris Yamada, a first-year business economics student. "There is no
reason we should have to dread taking a shower in the morning."
Residential life officials explained that students had tampered
with the hot water valves. The problem seemed to persist, though,
and the directors said that the tampering had occurred twice. They
further said that a new water tank was being installed to help ease
the shortage of hot water.
Dykstra residents may express their concerns to Chancellor
Carnesale on Feb. 10 in the Northwest Campus Auditorium at 7
p.m.