Marcu 1, 2005

Bryce Elsley Contributor

As many of you have noticed while walking the grounds of the university, there is quite a bit of construction underway all over campus. The most obvious construction is the new student residence, located immediately next to The Wanda Wyatt dining hall, across from KCI. This new residence will be five stories high and will feature an elevator for accessibility. Each suite will accommodate up to 3 students, and, unlike any of the other residence buildings, it will also be conveniently connected to the dining hall.

Speaking on behalf of the residence department, Pam McGuigan, the Administrative Support person for Residence, Food and Conference Services, has expressed excitement at the addition of the new residence building.

In addition to this new construction, upgrades were completed on Bernardine last summer, and Blanchard Hall is scheduled for its upgrade this summer. According to Pam McGuigan, “It is awesome to be able to offer such top quality residence housing to our students. Of course in the new building everything, including furniture, will be brand new, but there will also be some added features within the suites such as individual phone lines, televisions, double beds, and kitchenettes equipped with a fridge and microwave. And, although the other two residence buildings are not ‘new’, the recent renovations to Bernardine Hall, and those scheduled for Blanchard Hall during the summer of ‘05, will certainly bring those two buildings right up there in quality as well. By September ‘05, both Bernardine and Blanchard Halls with be upgraded with new paint, flooring, furniture, electrical upgrades, completely refurbished

New Residence: Help Wanted

bathrooms, as well as kitchens in Blanchard Hall. Overall, all the three residence buildings will be right up there in the ranks of quality residence living. Each will be unique in style and will offer its own traditions, just as the residence life experience itself should.”

While these upgrades mean that that all three buildings will be of essentially the same top quality, with new furnishings and extras, most students who were asked still said they would choose to live in the new residence building. All three residences include TV lounges, laundry facilities, cable TV, heat, hot water, local telephone, and electricity. ResNet internet connections are also available during the academic year for an additional fee.

The new residence will house students on a first come first serve basis and it is a safe bet that it will fill up quite quickly. Even considering this fact, there is concern that the other two residences, Bernadine and Blanchard (Marian will not be used to house students next year), will have trouble attracting residents. While the loss of Marian will force its residents into other residences, the numbers don’t add up. Marian has fewer residents by far than the capacity of the new building, and is limited to men only. While UPEI does get new students every year who will

contribute to filling these buildings, many residence occupants are of the opinion that there will be a significant lack of people who want to move into Bernadine and Blanchard. Based on informal interviews with students who live in residence there seem to be a number of occupants who will not be returning to residence at all; not because of the new building, but as a result of other factors.

The residence planners have asked for feedback from all students (including those who don’t live in residence) regarding what you think the residences should have, or in what areas they could improve. They would like you to tell them, honestly, what would make you choose residence living. If you have lived there and moved out, they’d like to know what made you decide to leave. Any responses will be anonymous unless you ask otherwise, and no one will be forwarded junk mail of any kind. Whether you want to complain, argue, or praise the existing program the responses will help make the residences better for next year, especially if there are a lot of the same complaints or suggestions. Please e-mail any and all comments and suggestions to belsley@upei.ca. Hopefully, with your suggestions, residence life will meet the needs of all students.

THE CADRE @ 17

Continued from page 12 contest, the girls’ record showed 9- 8.

The next night, UPEI took another beating, but not without a fight: the score ended up at 78-55. UCCB’s shooting record was 58% in first half, plus a 43-27 lead over UPEI going into half time. UCCB’s defense kept persisting and unfortunately, it worked. UPEI played very, very hard and I’m sure they were more impressed with this game. They put their best foot forward and came out with a 9-9 record. For UCCB, Kelli McHugh had 20 pts and Heather Ross had 4, 3 pointers (16 pts). UPEI’s own Melissa Campbell had a tremendous 14 pts and 5 assists and Katherine Walters ended up with a 12 pt. standing.

The girls also have secured a playoff position and have their last two games at UNB this coming weekend. UNB is in 6" place and UPET is in 4". It will be great to hear the outcome of those games!

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