Stuck in the sky
Hannah Fish, a freshman environmental studies major, said life is not always easy on South Campus.
‘It’s incredibly inconvenient and far away from everything,’ said Fish, a resident of SkyHall 2.
All freshmen at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry are housed in SkyHalls this year. With a new ESF dormitory under construction, students are envious of the enjoyable convenience future freshmen will have.
ESF plans to open the new dormitory for freshmen in fall 2011. It will be located on Main Campus on Oakland Street by Route 81 and will house all ESF freshmen.
With the new ESF dorm intended to open fall 2011, freshmen will no longer have to deal with living on South Campus. Some students said they believe the new dorm with provide a much better experience for future freshmen.
‘I’m actually jealous,’ said Colin Mullin, a freshman environmental studies major. ‘(The new dorm) will be so much better.’
Despite his jealousy, Mullin said he still likes living with all ESF freshmen, even if it is in SkyHalls. Because all ESF freshmen live together, he said it is easier for freshmen to create a community among themselves.
The new ESF dorm will be good for the school because students won’t have to rely on Syracuse University for housing anymore, said John Newland, a freshman environmental studies major.
In Newland’s opinion, SkyHalls provide a positive learning experience because most of the freshmen are in the same classes and can help each other, he said. But he also thinks the distance from Main Campus makes it difficult to meet upperclassmen and be fully engaged, he said.
‘It starts us off in our college career separated from the campus and a lot of the students,’ Newland said.
Aside from being far from other ESF students, Newland said he is concerned with the environmental impact of the necessary daily bus commutes. Newland said he would rather live on Main Campus to reduce his environmental impact.
‘We are polluting more every day than other students because we have to take the bus,’ Newland said.
Some ESF students appreciate the distance from Main Campus, said Megan Hockert, a residence director at SkyHalls, in an e-mail interview.
‘They have the opportunity to separate their living space from the space where they go to class,’ Hockert said. ‘Some students have expressed satisfaction at being able to ‘decompress’ from a hectic day of classes on the bus ride back to the halls.’
While many students said it is difficult to get to class on time, Hockert said that’s not always the case.
‘A few ESF professors have relayed that students arrive at class early, prepared and attentive rather than late and asleep,’ Hockert said.
Samantha Brooks, a freshman environmental studies major, said she thinks the buses in general and the distance from campus are difficult to deal with as a new college student.
Brooks said she thinks the new ESF dorm will make freshmen’s lives much easier because of its convenient location on Main Campus.
‘It’s nice that we are together and get to know each other better, but it’s stressful as a freshman to manage your time around both work and the buses,’ Brooks said. ‘It’s a lot of time out of your day to ride the bus back and forth.’
Published on February 24, 2010 at 12:00 pm
