Shippensburg University recently completed the first phase of a three-phase housing project. In January, students moved into the new buildings — Presidents Hall, McClean Hall II and Seavers Hall.
Although the new suite-style dormitories include many favorable amenities the older buildings did not, students feel there are still some things they would change.
One of the amenities that are different is there are laundry rooms on each floor, rather than just one room in the basement.
However, there are only two washers and dryers per floor, making it difficult for everyone on a floor to share.
SU freshman Nickolys Hinton, a resident in Presidents Hall, thinks most aspects of the dorms are enjoyable, but sees a bit of room for improvement.
“Plain and simple, they are the nicest dorms I know of for any college campus that I have visited or heard of.
Though they have some quirks that are being addressed, it is a completely different experience from any other living place for students attending SU and certainly an enjoyable difference,” Hinton said.
Some of the problems Hinton has seen are faulty thermostats that are hard to use, hot and cold water labels on faucets backward, and he says taller people might have a hard time sitting in the new desks since they are smaller.
Seavers resident Sam New, a junior at SU, found the floor she lives on seems to be crooked, and the bottom drawer of her desk does not stay closed properly because of this.
She also said her window does not close properly after having been opened just once.
However, one of the amenities she really enjoys is having her own bathroom.
“I like the new dorms and having my own bathroom is great, but I feel like they built them in a hurry so things got overlooked. Basically, they are nice to live in but they do have some issues to work out,” New said.
Although there are some issues to be fixed in the new buildings, the amenities are much more luxurious and the rooms are much more spacious than the ones in the old buildings.
The buildings are very contemporary and are an absolute upgrade from the older buildings, which are from the 1960s.
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