Some students have taken action to demand compensation for inconveniences caused by the current construction projects on campus.

Grey Jensen, a sophomore who lives in Pierson Hall, started a petition that requests compensation to be given to the students most affected by the construction. Within the first day that the petition circulated early last week, more than 100 Pierson Hall residents had given their signatures.

Shortly after the petition began to make the rounds in Pierson Hall, Brady Duxbury, a CA in Pierson and an SA senator, informed Jensen that he could not go door to door outside of his own floor because that would be considered solicitation, which is not allowed in residence halls per the Residential Life handbook, which reads:

“To maintain privacy and security, door-to-door solicitation is not allowed in residence halls … Individuals wishing to sell and/or solicit in residence halls must contact the Director of Residential Life for permission five business days prior to their planned event … Sales and/ or solicitation will be allowed in a specified area of the lobby only after approval.”

The petition is currently on hold pending authorization from Pierson’s Residence Hall Director.

“A lot of students are really angry over the inconvenience that the construction has caused,” said Jensen, who is studying pre-law. “If the students got something back, there would be less anger.”

Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Doug Wermedal said that Student Affairs circulated information about the construction widely and openly since the beginning of the 2011-12 school year.

“We have been discussing it with the student government, the Collegian has published articles and an email was sent out to everyone living on campus earlier this semester,” he said. Student Affairs also posted images of the new buildings and dining expansion, detailed floor plans for the new residence halls and a map of the construction layout complete with pedestrian footpaths prior to the start of construction on SDSU’s website. Still, some students are upset about the inconvenience.

The language of the petition is very broad and not specific about what kind of compensation students should receive. Jensen suggests that students should receive a quarter of the value that next year’s residents will get. This is because this year’s students have had to deal with the annoyances for a fourth of the time.

“I think that if students will be receiving compensation next year, so should students this year since there is still half the semester left,” said Michelle Albert, an

 

early childhood education major who lives in Pierson Hall.

Jensen is confident that the petition will be signed by all residents of Pierson Hall, and has not yet had a single person refuse to sign it or argue that what it is requesting is unreasonable.

“If we get 400 signatures, everyone in Pierson, that will really send a message,” Jensen said.

Beth DeJong, a sophomore graphic design major who lives in Abbott Hall a part of Jackrabbit Village. She thinks that some sort of monetary help should be given across the board to those living on campus. “Either some sort of extra flex dollars, or discounted parking permits, maybe even a tuition cut. It’s just a very inconvenient deal in many ways.”

Duxbury said that monetary compensation does not look likely at all at this point, but admits that it is impossible to say for sure what will happen in the end. Wermedal said that the first step in resolving this issue will be to listen to the students’ concerns.

“We’re obviously always willing to hear what students have to say. We will sit down with the student organizers to hear their ideas and talk about their suggestions,” Wermedal said. “This petition is a great starting point for a conversation.”

Jensen intends to take the petition to the Students’ Association once everyone in Pierson who wants to sign it signs it to try and gain the support of the student government. He said he hopes that the issue can eventually be solved diplomatically.