It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, the neighborhood being The Village at Capital College. That is the name of the new campus apartment complex, which replaces Meade Heights this semester. As with any new. addition to the campus, students need to be informed about it, and Residence Life staff members were able to provide us with some specifics. First of all, why call it “The Village?” Before resident students are branded with nicknames like “The Village People.,” PSH Director of Housing and Food Services Joann Coleman gave her take on the name. “We want to give the students a welcoming feeling,” Coleman said. She also added that the name carries the complex’s new identity, “It’s not a dorm, and not a hall, and not the type of neighborhood Meade Heights was.” The Village is definitely a very “homey” moniker. Coleman said that it echoed names such as Middletown’s Pineford Village apartments. Coordinator of Residence Life George Young said, “It should devel op a greater sense of Community as compared to Meade Heights.” Indeed, those who remember Meade Heights certainly recall that the main daily interaction residents had was among their immediate neighbors, because it was set up like an average housing development. In The Village, however, most of the buildings are facing each other in an almost circular configuration. There is a cen tral lawn where students can gather and benches where they can sit and either study or relax. The buildings also have no back doors. Coleman said, “The layout of the buildings and no back doors forces some interaction among the resi dents.” Young added, “you’ll see more faces than you did while living in Meade Heights.” Another feature that will foster more interaction is the location of the mail boxes. They are all outside the front doors of the . Community Center, which Coleman said is the focal point of the new facility. This is where students can go with questions or concerns they have, and also where many activities take place, such as the performance of stand-up comedian Michael Dean Ester last Tuesday." The Community Center features a lounge room with a big-screen TV. It also has an all-purpose room, which can be used for activities, games, or study space. There is also a conference room, which Coleman said that-outside organizations might use for meetings and seminars. She added that even summer camps for youth could use the Community Center, which is significant since some of those youth may one day choose to attend PSH. So far there is one addition planned, another housing unit to be constructed behind the Community Center. This will house anywhere from 32 to 40 stu dents. Coleman said.that construction should start in about two to three months and the building will be ready for the faH of 2003. Coleman*also said that they plan to put a sand volleyball court behind the Center. The new setting will not be without its chal lenges. Young said that there were some “growing pains” such as glitches in the phone system or internet connection: Community Assistant Nick Pazdziorko said some residents were having trouble controlling the air and heat mechanisms. Young also pointed out that one of these chal lenges will be noise issues, since students live much closer to each other. He said, “Students will have to be more aware and respectful of their neighbors.” One of those neighbors is Grandview Elementary School. Most Village residents may have at least seen (or heard) the young students of this school on the playground during recess. Coleman said that a concern arose during a neighborhood committee meeting about the new housing being so close to the elementary school. Some were worried that potential conflicts could arise, but Coleman was positive. She said that some PSH students are stu dent teachers at the school and that some of the elemen »• * 4 ~ »* .♦ Seed of Decades , Sixty Watt Reviewecl By: * Shaman’s second full-length HAMboiNE album, is packed with Artist/Croup: enough head-banging rock Sixty Watt Shaman to leave your neck sore. AlbuM Title: This album is typical “ston- SEEd of DECAdEser rock,,, containing gritty L a b eT Re (ease Date SEpTEMbER, 2000 provided by C.A. Dukehart Genre: 111 and the moaning vocals Stoner Rock of Dan Kerzwick, it doesn’t haven’t heard before. For Overall Rating: sound much different than more information about ** * any other doom/stoner rock them, visit their official album. website at www.six -5 | One Tin c, Kev : | tywattshaman.com. 1 £ Hfo rQ& bl e f ? 1 For Fans of: |Qi ' ' * |<f l I *f*§* I Bum Spitfire guitars by Joe Selby and RECoRds Reverend Jim Forrester. With the slow drumbeats tary school students got to tour the facilities in June. Coleman said the young students were very excited, and even heard some of them say, “I want to go here when I go to college!” Pazdziorko thought that having an elementary school for a neighbor was a good thing. He said, “Students will realize that they are part of a larger com munity, and they will police themselves a little bit.. more.” Pazdziorko’s job is that of Community Assistant, or CA. The CA’s are resident students as well (Pazdziorko is a communications major) and oversee a group of anywhere from 40 to 64 residents. Pazdziorko said, “We are the front line between the students and the university. We help them work through things such as conflicts and homesickness, as well as provide entertain ment and let them know of things to do in the communi ty.” Pazdziorko spent the past two years as a Resident Assistant (RA) at the Penn State Berks campus. He says the biggest challenge is not knowing what big challenges will arise. “It’s an all-learning experience,” he said. So what kind of feedback have students been giving the staff about their new dwellings? Young and Coleman .said many are happy with the “newness” of the facilities. Pazdziorko said, “Students are very happy that they don’t have io walk as far to class as when they lived in Meade Heights.” Coleman also said that the many amenities are what set apart The Village. The students have 24-hour police protection, and are not billed separately for serv ices like cable television, utilities, and internet access, since this is all included in the cost of room and board. Each housing unit has four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and (my favorite) a washer and dryer. There are 72 housing units which lodge a total of 300 students, according to PSH’s official website. Hie new housing has a lot to offer to students, such as proximity to campus, amenities, and a new level of comfort. It is definitely something to be excited about as PSH continues to grow for the future. highlights of this album is “New Trip.,, It’s one of the heaviest songs off of this album which guest stars. Neil Faljon of Clutch and his wife Angela Fallon, both singing backup vocals. Unless you are a diehard fan of Sixty Watt Shaman, I would first download some of their stuff. This album is good, but it’s nothing that I
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