Pearsons Hall is now open to residents

    Students are now occupying the newly renovated Pearsons residence hall. The residence hall has experienced very drastic changes since the last time it was used for student housing. The hall renovations are an answer for the College’s increasing admission rate, which has led to an over populated campus. Pearsons has relieved the other halls, mainly the freshman buildings, from housing three people in one room.

    The hall is not completely finished yet. Construction hit some delays in the summer that put the plan off schedule, so the building is still experiencing continuous work. The residents of the building have been very considerate throughout this process as contractors work to put the finishing touches on the building.

    “It has been annoying at times, but I understand they had delays over the summer.” said Megan Kolb, a resident assistant on the second floor.

    Since the building is new, the contractors are expecting to find some initial problems, but they have been working to fix issues as they arise.

    The new residential space encompasses two floors. The second floor consists of upperclassmen women. The third floor consists of freshmen men. A total of four resident assistants live in the residence hall, which allows for two on each floor. A resident director also lives in the building on the third floor.

    There is a variety of rooms on each floor of the building. The building consists of double rooms, set up similarly to those in the freshman halls. These double rooms have a community bath on the floor for their use. Some suites on each floor house two residents with their own private bathroom, and the woman’s floor has one quad room. The quad consists of a living area, kitchen, bathroom and two bedrooms.

    Pearsons Hall has one lobby on the second floor to be shared by both floors. In the lobby, there is a fully equipped kitchen for the students to use. The furniture in the lobby is residence hall friendly. For example, each portion of the couch can be purchased separately. If a piece gets damaged, the damaged piece can be replaced rather than buying all new furniture.

    Since the third floor does not have a lobby, there is a study room for the residents living on that floor. The study room is equipped with tables and chairs, providing a quiet place for students living in the hall to do school work.

    The community spaces are important in building up the Pearsons Hall community. The resident assistances are hard at work to create the community. They have already had a Pearsons Hall house party for their residents and are continuing to plan more events for the rest of the year.

    With the opening of the new hall there is the question of how the community will develop.

“The community in Pearsons Hall is still being established,” said Kolb. “Since the lobby area is not completely done yet, people don’t hang out in one central location. It seems like the boy’s floor has created more of a community than the girl’s floor though.”

    Pearsons Hall has been designated as a wellness hall, meaning alcohol and tobacco are not permitted. Before Pearsons Hall opened there was only one upperclassman wellness building on campus. Students wanted more wellness halls so Pearsons was an answer to student’s requests.

    “Upperclassmen ladies wanted another wellness building because they appreciate that environment,” said Kolb.

The new hall has offers another wellness building option, but Kolb mentions that it is hard to compare Pearsons to any other residence hall because of the population occupying the building is unique.

    The residents currently living in the hall are excited to break in the building for the next group of residents.

    “The fact that everything is brand new is nice; it also feels like we are starting a new tradition in Pearsons,” said Kolb.