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
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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.
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