Memorial Hall delays displace students

By Aaron Heller and Sofia Montoya-Deck 

The housing office had to reassign 125 students this semester after continuous delays on the construction of Memorial Hall, which was expected to be completed by August 2023 after over a year of construction.  

The delays consisted of many unforeseen circumstances, according to Vice President of Finance and Treasurer Robert Klinedinst. A massive amount of asbestos, budgeting mistakes, elevator placement issues and overall engineering flaws caused months of delays, he said. 

Students originally assigned to live in Memorial Hall were first notified of their housing changes via email. Klinedinst held a webinar on July 12 for Memorial Hall residents and parents to disclose construction updates. The school has since maintained monthly communication through email and phone calls. Memorial Hall residents who elected to live on campus were offered temporary spaces and granted adjusted housing rates for the entirety of the fall semester.  

Office of Residence Life Director Dawan Worsley said everyone who had a contract for housing, even late ones, was given a bed on campus. The construction company is still unclear on when the renovation of Memorial Hall will be completed. A frequently asked questions page, where construction updates are posted, can be found on Hood College’s Residence Life website. Worsley is “looking forward to Memorial Hall opening so that residents can live in the building and enjoy it.” 

Memorial Hall head resident adviser Zoe Finholm, a senior, was relocated to the Admission House along with four first-year students. Finholm and the other three displaced resident advisers stay in contact with their residents and are still planning to participate in Hood’s annual Policy for Dollars event in November, in which residence halls compete against one another in efforts to raise funds. Although Finholm says she enjoys the experience of living in a house, she does miss being in a dorm. “I like being in close proximity to my friends and the communal aspect of living on campus,” she said. 

The delays on Memorial have impacted more than just the upperclassmen who applied for housing there. Many first-year students are also being affected because of the housing shortage. First-year Mason Koloski is living with seven of his lacrosse teammates in the Meyran lounge. 

Despite having a couple of issues like deciding when to turn the lights off or having to turn off music speakers, the first-years are making good use of their extra space, Koloski said. They placed their wardrobes across the middle of the room to split the large lounge into two “rooms” of four. They even have enough space to fit a mini putting green for entertainment. “I’m sorry to everyone that has to live next to us,” Koloski said.  

Memorial is the first of five residence halls on campus to be renovated. The next buildings due for renovations are Meyran, Smith, Coblentz, and Shriner. Due to the unexpected issues with Memorial, Hood College staff has implemented a “Lessons Learned Document” to prevent similar issues with future construction projects. For now, Hood staff said they are dedicated to making the best of the situation at hand, especially for those students most affected by Memorial’s delays. 

 “We are looking forward to this project being done,” Klinedinst said. “We want them to move into Memorial Hall as soon as they can.”