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Second-year students Brandon Jeong, a Delta Terrace resident, and Hedrick resident Tamara DeJesus

On-campus housing construction projects are not only changing the physical appearance of the Hill, but may alter its population composition and affect the social atmosphere in the new buildings.

Existing residential suite complexes, which include Sunset Village and De Neve Plaza, are sometimes criticized by students as being more antisocial than the high-rises because of less foot traffic in the hallways as a result of having shared or private bathrooms instead of community facilities.

The three new residence halls on the Hill – Hedrick Summit, Rieber Terrace and Rieber Vista – will have similar floorplans, with shared bathroom suites and groupings of five single rooms with a shared bathroom.

Criticism aside, many residents say they like the quieter and more private atmosphere of the residential plazas. Anthony Nguyen, a third-year biochemistry student who is opting to return to De Neve Plaza in the fall, says suite residents don’t have to miss out on college social life as long as they put effort into making friends.

“The high-rises have a greater potential to be more social, but it’s what you make of it,” Nguyen said. “If you want (suites) to be social, you have to take the initiative to go and meet people.”

Previous on-campus housing surveys indicate that students seek more privacy in the dorms, especially upper-division students, said Jack Gibbons, associate director of the Office of Residential Life.

The new housing options targeted at upper-division students are being introduced as on-campus housing moves toward its goal of offering all entering freshman four years of guaranteed housing and two years for all transfer students.

The 2005-2006 academic year is the first in UCLA history in which transfer students will be able to return to on-campus housing for a second year of residence.

The expected demographic change in the on-campus housing population and the influx of older students will likely change the social atmosphere on the Hill, Gibbons said.

ORL is differentiating its room placements significantly more than in the past for the 2005-2006 academic year, taking additional measures to concentrate first-years and upper-division students with others similar to their own year, Gibbons said.

Construction on the Hill doesn’t just change the social atmosphere of on-campus housing – students must also deal with construction noise beginning at 7 a.m. as well as the other inconveniences that come along with it.

“UCLA’s constantly under construction,” said Mai Vo, a third-year sociology and political science student. “It’s annoying waking up in the morning to jackhammers.”

Among the inconveniences that residents must deal with are increased noise and dust, relocations of housing services and access difficulties, as construction necessities constantly close or reroute walkways.

To compensate on-campus residents for the inconvenience, ORL sets aside funds for construction mitigation, which can be applied to programming for special events and activities for affected residents, new equipment such as computers or facilities improvements.

The completion of the new residence halls won’t be the end of construction on the Hill – it will simply signify construction progressing to a new phase.

The upcoming academic year will see the completion of first-floor renovations of existing high-rise residence halls and the openings of Hedrick Summit and Rieber Terrace in the fall. Rieber Vista is scheduled for completion in winter 2006.

Housing has also begun plans for major renovations of the four old high-rise residence halls – Dykstra, Rieber, Sproul and Hedrick. While details of the renovations have not been finalized, the upgrades will likely include dorm rooms, bathrooms, study lounges and hallways.