Leslie Warnke

When construction on the first floor of Wecota Hall commenced in late December, hall residents were more than a little disgruntled.

“They started the main construction a couple weeks after [winter] break,” said Wecota resident freshman Lindsie Page.

Page and other third-floor residents are annoyed on a daily basis by the loud noises generated from the construction crew on the first floor.

“They start at 7 o’clock; it’s early,” said Page. “The pounding noises are really loud.”

“We don’t even set our alarm clocks anymore,” said Wecota freshman Kelsey Severtson. “We just hear the pounding and know that it must be 7 or 8.”

To get to their dorms, residents of Wecota Hall must pass through a first-floor construction zone, which is often dusty and noisy. They then must push past the plastic sheeting that covers the entrance to the stairwell that leads to their floor.

“We can’t complain enough,” said freshman Wecota resident Nicole Gapp.

Gapp says that construction workers didn’t know anyone was even living in the residence hall until she spoke up one day.

“I walked downstairs complaining about how it was noisy when I woke up. One of the construction workers made a comment to another about how he didn’t know there were girls living upstairs.”

That’s when construction workers installed the plastic sheeting to prevent the dust they produced from traveling upstairs.

Page says she didn’t know there was going to be construction before she chose to live in the hall. Her resident advisor informed the residents of the imminent construction the week before winter break.

“I don’t think any of us realized how extensive it was going to be that week before break,” said Page.

Many residents say they and others have expressed their annoyance to their hall director to no avail. Gapp says that the third-floor girls received an e-mail from him, but that it did nothing to quiet complaints on the floor.

The construction will cause further inconveniences for the residents before the work is done. The third-floor Wecota residents will eventually have to travel outside to get to their front desk, mailboxes, and laundry facilities according to a letter they received before winter break.

Gapp said the camaraderie she shares with her fellow third-floor residents is what keeps her in the hall.

“If the atmosphere up here wasn’t what it is, I would have moved this semester,” she said.

Doug Wermedal, assistant dean of Student Affairs, said the noise will all be worth its annoyance when the first floor of Wecota is completely remodeled.

“The university has been fortunate enough to secure federal and university funds in order to build a Geographic Information Science Center,” said Wermedal.

Wermedal says the center will have links with the Aerospace Data Center, allowing for top flight research positions to be filled at SDSU.

Wermedal explained that the federal money received for this project came with some requirements that made the construction necessary.

“We needed offices [in Wecota] as soon as possible to take advantage of the federal funds,” said Wermedal.

He says the momentum already made in the remodeling of the first floor has encouraged a speedier completion of the project.

The SDSU Physical Plant, which is in charge of the construction, could not be reached for comment on when the project would be completed.

#1.885332:3937964584.jpg:VWecotaAa.jpg:A physical plant electrician works in Wecota Hall. Remodeling began in January to allow for a new Geographic Information Science Center.: