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Union
construction disrupts greek Living
By
Michele Gay
Gavel Reporter
Residents
of sorority houses near the Union construction
site say they are still enduring the noise and
disturbances that started last fall.
“The
Union construction put a damper on my year residing
at my sorority house. We had to cater our lifestyles
around the construction. People were forced to
leave the house in order to keep a peace of mind
and study,” said senior Stephanie Gerrone,
a member of Alpha Chi Omega.
Last
year, complaints came from the sorority houses
along the edge of the construction project. Residents
said they had a hard time doing daily things such
as studying and sleeping because of the noise.
“Every
morning it would never fail — at 7 a.m.,
the loud jackhammer would be booming outside just
feet from our window,” Gerrone said.
Students
also said that the construction was a major inconvenience.
Ann Marie Martin, a junior Phi Mu member, said,
“Our house was filthy, the windows were always
covered in dirt and the noise was terrible.”
Some
sorority sisters chose not to live in the houses
this year, leaving empty rooms. Each organization
is fined $1,851 fine per vacanct room. One sorority
made an attempt to be reimbursed for an unfilled
room by writing a letter stating that members
chose not to live there because of the unfit living
conditions. Requests for reimbursements were denied
by the Office of Residence Life. Linda Newman,
interim director of Residence Life, did not respond
to The Gavel’s telephone calls to comment
on the issue.
The
construction is scheduled to end by the beginning
of the spring semester. The noise may not end
when construction does, however. Loading docks
have been built behind the sorority houses and
are scheduled to deliver goods there each day.
Despite
the inconvenience, Martin said the new union will
provide a sense of togetherness that the University
lacks.
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