Clarkson freshmen arrive to new digs

POTSDAM — Students are settling in in the fourth-floor additions to the freshman quad at Clarkson University, while construction continues on several master plan projects across campus.

"It's just miraculous what they've finished in one summer," said Kyle J. Chretien, a student resident assistant for one of the new floors. "They were stripping the roofs while I was still in finals in April. As soon as we were gone, the day after, they broke ground — or I guess they broke 'roof.'"

As the sophomore engineering management major from Maine passed through "his" floor atop the H-shaped Cubley, Reynolds, Ross and Brooks complex of four interconnected residence halls, he pointed proudly to all of the improvements.

"Clarkson went above and beyond. You can just see they put in the extra nickel to make each room turn out well," Mr. Chretien said.

The recently completed fourth floors feature gabled windows, lounges with a view and enough room to house the larger-than-usual Class of 2014.

"This freshman class came in with record-breaking numbers. We were going to be 75 spots short for students for the year. Each new floor houses 21 students, so there's 84 extra spots now," he said. "It makes it much more comfortable for us, and my job as an RA is easier because the people I'm responsible for are happier. They're not all stuffed up."

The top-floor amenities include large lounges with couches, microwaves, refrigerators and TVs — one of which already has been stolen — and storage rooms for such things as sports equipment, Mr. Chretien said.

The bathrooms and showers are also bigger and nicer. Plus, each room has its own thermostat and extra outlets. The fourth-floor additions are the only residence areas on campus with wireless Internet as well, Mr. Chretien said.

Another nice feature is the easy-cleanup flooring: tile in the dorm rooms and replaceable squares of carpeting in the hallway, "so if anyone pukes, you can just replace that square," the RA said.

Sprinklers were installed on every floor of the freshman dorms. Now that the renovations are complete, students will have to hold back on "hall sports," which are basically outdoor sports condensed to fit into tight spaces, to prevent the sprinkler system from being tripped accidentally, Mr. Chretien said.

"The main objectives of the quad project were to improve the aesthetics of campus and also add some living space. From the feedback of parents and students, it sounds like the aesthetic portion was achieved," said Gard M. Meserve, the college's chief information officer. "We'll be looking at the potential of doing the same thing with some other dormitories at the bottom of the hill this summer."

The other major change that students are encountering on campus this fall is the construction of the $25 million Student Center.

"This is major. We needed a student space to be able to allow the students to have space where they can congregate and be entertained. This will sort of be their living room," Mr. Meserve said. "We placed it in an area that would be central to campus."

Already, about half of the steel frame has been raised. Clarkson aims to have the building enclosed by Thanksgiving and complete by July, Mr. Meserve said.

Work continues on Hantz Field, the turf athletic field under construction next to the Walker Center. Contractors will start to lay the turf Monday, with the goal of getting teams onto the field by the second week of September, Mr. Meserve said.