For most students in Sproul Hall, sleeping in past 7 a.m. has
become an admirable accomplishment. If you have to ask why, you
probably don’t live in or near the dormitories. Every
morning, the melodious tune of jackhammers, electric saws and a
Bobcat gently caress students out of their peaceful slumbers.
Although necessary, these disruptions are compounded by the lack
of compensation. For the going price of a triple in Westwood, the
least students should expect is a good night’s rest.
The current construction at Sproul Hall began just as current
freshmen were settling in around December 2002, and is expected to
continue until the first quarter of their sophomore year. Other
halls will face the same type of construction disturbances, with
development of two new halls ““ the aptly named, Rieber West
and North. Hedrick renovations are also starting this summer.
The reloading of UCLA’s housing resources is definitely
good news for the next wave of UCLA students, but having current
residents pay for the construction bills is suspect. Sproul dorm
residents have, in one year, dealt with the closure of their
closest dining hall, loss of their beloved Italian eatery and slow
encroachment of maze-like tunnels that invade their disappearing
lobby. Add in the noise at the worst possible times and
transplanted palm trees jutting halfway into rooms on the third
floor, and you have a lot of people more than willing to
renegotiate their leases.
Instead, the housing office has extended its generous hands and
provided students with six-packs of Coke earlier in the year and
bluebooks for finals. As touching as this outreach effort is,
students would probably trade in all those 30-some cent bluebooks
for an extra hour of sleep. For the continuous string of
disturbances the “intensive” construction taking place
until the end of the year, this gesture is a joke.
First, what are bluebooks going to do when you’re falling
asleep in your finals? Construction could not have come at a worse
time, and with only a few weeks until summer, one wonders why all
this can not wait. With construction being a lurking factor in
two-thirds of most people’s dorming lives, what is an extra
month? The heaviest construction days should have been scheduled to
occur during winter break, when the only ones left to bother would
have been the imported squirrels. Instead, construction will occur
near finals week.
It seems somewhat ironic that while the dorms institute quiet
hours for 22 hours a day during 10th and finals week, construction
is scheduled from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
These conditions are unacceptable for a university residence.
Housing costs cannot continue to rise while construction makes it
harder and harder to stay sane. Next year, a double in Sproul Hall
will amount to about $1,000 a month. Taking into account that that
the size of the rooms themselves are comparable to jail cells, and
definitely smaller than dorms in other schools in the University of
California. It seems we are paying for location. Yet, I doubt many
would have any trouble finding a cheaper, 6-by-15-foot cubicle to
live in Westwood, once you figure in the cost in sheer agitation
from morning jackhammerings.
Maybe you can’t put a price tag on sleep, but UCLA should
try. The minimal gesture of free bluebooks is an insult. Either
refund a small portion of the housing costs for the crippled
conditions or don’t plan construction for times better
suitable for quiet than noise. For the price we are paying, a good
night’s rest should be a part of the lease agreement.