Nosker House, a north campus residence hall, has been undergoing renovations and is one of the latest projects to improve student life for those who live on campus. But, while the residents of Nosker House commend Residence Life and Ohio State for spending time and money to improve the facility, many residents have experienced numerous problems during construction and feel Residence Life has inhibited rather than bettered their living situation.
Mark Ryan, a resident of Nosker House, and Hall Director Julius Mayo, met with Residence Life Director Steve Kremer on March 2 to discuss the issues of the Nosker House renovations and residence.
“One of the major issues is that residents, especially freshmen and those in the Ford program, were never informed that this construction was going to take place,” Ryan said. “As a matter a fact, most residents were not made aware until they moved in the fall.”
According to Ryan, if residents would have been notified about the renovation plans earlier, students could have made alternative arrangements, such as indicating different housing preferences on their contracts or moving to off-campus housing.
“When we arrived we had no bathroom door locks,” he said. He and his roommates had to tape the door shut with duct tape.
Loud noises and vibrations from the construction repeatedly disturbed sleeping residents.
“Residents were woken up morning after morning by the loud noises or from the walls vibrating,” Ryan said. He said the noises were still present during finals week, when there were 24-hour quiet hours being enforced in university residence halls.
Nosker House was not the only residence hall affected by this construction. According to Ryan, students living in Blackburn and other residence halls located on north campus were also inconvenienced by construction work.
During the USG Senate meeting on Jan. 28, Ryan spoke about the issues Nosker House residents have been facing and provided the members of the senate with a letter he wrote to Kremer, stating the grievances of his fellow residence and suggestions for compensations.
“We don’t blame the university or Residence Life for these problems,” Ryan said. “Unfortunately, Residence Life is really the end of the line of where we can seek help. What we are asking for is some kind of compensation to Nosker residents who lived there during autumn quarter 2000 and winter quarter 2001.”
Although Kremer acknowledged students were inconvenienced because of the construction, he said OSU is not legally obligated to compensate Nosker residents.
“I didn’t believe students deserve compensation. I do not believe they lost anything that was contracted to them,” he said. “The contract clearly states that OSU has the right to perform renovation projects. All work was done in public areas and rooms of residents were not included in the project.”
Instead, Kremer said he was looking for ways to thank residents for being patient during the renovations and for something that will benefit future students. Although the project took longer than planned, the improvements to the Nosker House were part of the university’s plan to make all buildings accessible for students with disabilities. He also said research has shown that staying open during renovations is what is best for the university.
“Before this project, you couldn’t enter the building if you were in a wheelchair,” Kremer said. “Nosker holds about 177 residents. Our alternative would be to have 177 students not live on campus.”
Because work was done in public space only, it was not necessary to close down the hall during renovation.
“Yes, students were inconvenienced, but I would hope that most are mature enough to realize that they are a part of a larger community of students,” Kremer said. “We need to keep updating the dorms, especially the things that improve accessibility for students with disabilities.”
Nosker House followed the renovations of Morrill and Lincoln Towers, Baker Hall East and West, and Mack Hall. The Nosker project should be completed today, according to a memo Kremer received. Yesterday, there was an open house in the new lobby for students to attend.
Kremer said there are no renovations planned for next year, but that there is still a group of residence halls on campus that need to be made more accessible for people with disabilities.
“Right now our concern is creating new living space,” he said. “We are at absolute capacity and we are at the point were we are having to turn students away who want to live on campus.”
