Students sound off on life in new apartments

The scent of onions and potatoes wafted through the air of a gray and black kitchen in the new apartment complex known as STAC as two residents prepared a meal.

Jamie Mischner, a senior early childhood and childhood education major from East Meadow, and Jessica Pangerl, a junior art education major from Dobbs Ferry, said they like the new building more than other dorms on campus.

"You can actually cook in the kitchen," Mischner said.

Irwin Litvak, a senior business administration major from Brooklyn, said for the most part he is content with the new building, despite the huge number of rules that come along with living there.

"The apartment itself is decorated very nicely," Litvak said. "I enjoy the apartments and the fact that I have a lot of people living next to me and I'm able to meet people."

Most residents disagree with others' positive view of the residential area and said they feel the building is not worth the money they are now paying due to the strict enforcement of residential rules.

"RAs are horrible. They're very unfair, they're very strict. They treat us like we're children," said Matt Dwyer, a junior English major from Utica.

Students said they believe the only reason rules are being enforced in the complex is because it's new and the school is determined to keep it nice.

For the most part students said they like the design of the complex, but they also said some features do not measure up to those in similar buildings such as Moore Complex.

"I thought the living room was small for what it was," Dwyer said. "I mean, I guess we have a bigger kitchen now, but I thought (the living room) would be a little bit bigger for what we're paying."

Other complaints voiced by numerous students were the frequent fire drills, limited Resident Assistant availability, issues with the mail system and the fact that there is no social area such as a lounge or study room for students.

Their complaints were filled with stories of items such as flags, toasters and George Foreman Grills being confiscated. Others complained of problems with the rooms seeming unfinished, which they said they feel is a result of the school rushing complete the development of the building.

"When we moved in, I didn't have a doorstop. Now I have a hole in my wall. The shower light wasn't working. The air conditioner wasn't working," Dwyer said.

The cost for living in the apartment complex is $4,400 per semester, compared to the $3,165 for a standard room in a suite-style building.

Each apartment in the complex consists of four single bedrooms, two bathrooms and an open-plan kitchen and living room.

Residence Life Director Kris Kaufman said he thinks this cost is not a deterrent to students because of the amenities and benefits the new building offers.

"(With the) convenience of being on campus, the single bedrooms were the primary voice that students expressed, especially the upper-class students," Kaufman said.

He said that students mostly wanted separate apartments with all the amenities to themselves.

"(In other buildings) you don't get your own room, you don't get your own shower," Mischner said.

Although Dwyer said he would agree that having a single room is a benefit the complex provides, this is not enough to keep him from moving off campus after the semester is over.

"I'm moving off campus," Dwyer said. "It's too expensive to live here anyway."

Mischner and Pangerl said they also plan to move off campus.

Kaufman said Residence Life faculty had expected the building to be filled all along.

"We're filled," he said. "We may have some students that come and go, students certainly withdraw, take medical leave, throughout the entire campus and that happens all the time."

The selection process for housing assignments was the same for this building as it is for the other dorms on campus said Curtis Brickhouse, associate director for Residence Life.

Students were sent emails with the opportunity for them to live in the new complex, starting with students who were being housed off campus, Brickhouse said. After those students, selection came down to the normal points system based on individual students' class rank, GPA and involvement with their current residence hall, among other things.

When it came to filling the new complex, students who were contacted first were those housed in the Adams Mark hotel in downtown Buffalo, which had been utilized by the school for a number of years.

"You have to remember we had over 250 transfer students down at the Adams Mark hotel," Kaufman said.

The dorm is currently at capacity with its 124 four-bedroom apartments full, and roughly 125 students on the waiting list.

Jennifer Waters can be reached by email at waters.record@live.com.