Students disturbed by loud construction next to dormitory

KUTZTOWN, Dec. 4—Sentiments about early-morning noise due to construction are divided among residents of Kutztown University's Deatrick Hall, depending on the side a student resides.

The construction of the residential complex next to 600 student residence hall ranges from an un-interfering occurrence to major nuisance depending on what side of the building the student is. Students living in rooms facing the interior of campus hear very little in comparison to students facing the exterior, whose windows are right above the site. “Its right outside my window,” freshman Business major Samantha Goldenburg, whose room is facing the construction, says with obvious annoyance. “I hate it,” says sophomore Art Education major Will Greider echoing her sentiment, whose first floor residence also faces construction. “It wakes me up every morning. They should hold off until at least 10:30[a.m.].”

Construction has been progressing since early October, and generally starts around 7 a.m., according to students in Deatrick. “They’re up early,” says freshman Engineering major John Linn. Jennifer Leo, freshman Special Education major, also remarked about it starting early. “I hear it when I wake up at 7:30 a.m.,” says the Leo, whose room faces construction. “Its really a nuisance hearing it in the morning and all day long.” Students are also saying that the construction can be distracting when trying to do schoolwork in their dormitory.

Linn, whose room is on the opposite side of construction, says it only bothers him when workers drop something, then the loud clang wakes him. Freshman Electronic Media major Travis Harley also says that the construction doesn’t really bother him. He says that he sometimes hears loud booms in his DMZ oriented room in the morning, but is otherwise unaffected.

Similar events are happening at other colleges as well. The College of Charleston, in Charleston, S.C., was petitioned by the Student Government Association to halt construction on campus during finals week, according to MSNBC, but the administration refused citing large costs as the reason. Instead, they offered ear plugs to affected students.

In the same fashion, university president Dr. F Javier Cevallos said Monday that KU will also buy and deliver ear plugs to the residence halls. The Facilities department also issued a statement saying they could not delay the start of construction until 10 a.m. because their work day is designed to maximize usable daylight hours and a delay would remove approximately 2 hours. This, says Facilities, would compromise the start of excavation for the new residence, and would further strain an already tight construction schedule. Facilities also said that they are already struggling to keep the schedule due to the amount of rock that must be excavated.

Sandy Muth, a custodian in Beck hall, commented that the noise was extremely loud in the beginning of the semester when construction was behind her hall. The excavation of the rock merited several complaints from students about the distraction it caused and the early hour, she says.

This does, however, seem to be a problem that affects a very low percentage of students. Construction noise just seems to affect residents of Deatrick who reside in the back of the hall where the construction is.