Wednesday, November 19, 1997
Can’t go home to Hershey
HOUSING:
Graduate students upset about impending closure of hall to give
space to academic departments By Michael Weiner
Daily Bruin Contributor
After many years as an on-campus home for graduate students,
Hershey Hall will close at the end of this school year to yield its
space to academic departments.
Many of the 330 graduate students that live there are not
happy.
"I don’t want to live off campus," said Hershey resident Denise
Pinon. "I like the convenience of living here."
Hershey Hall will be renovated between June and December 1998
for use by the sociology and anthropology departments. The
departments will use Hershey as office space for the following two
years while Haines Hall (their current home) undergoes seismic
renovation.
A group of Hershey residents met Nov. 12 to discuss the
impending closure and its ramifications.
The university is currently looking for ways to replace the
living spaces that will be lost to the closure of Hershey,
according to director of housing administration Michael
Foraker.
"We are looking to see what is available in the private sector,
and we’re also looking to see what is available in our current
inventory," Foraker said.
One proposal that Foraker discussed with Graduate Students
Association (GSA) President Andrew Westall is using the four
Hilgard Houses and add two more Hilgard Houses for graduates.
The Hilgard Houses are currently used to accommodate transfer
students. However, using them will displace the transfer students,
and according to Westall, the houses are not adequate for the needs
of graduate students.
"Even though it’s a temporary solution, it’s not acceptable,"
Westall said. "It doesn’t fulfill the (housing) needs that graduate
students have on this campus."
Pinon said that no matter what happens with alternative housing,
some group will lose out because of Hershey’s closure.
"Four groups are going to be affected by the closure of Hershey
 graduate students, especially those from out of state,
transfer students, international students and students with
disabilities," Pinon said.
Pinon also said that current Hershey residents did not know that
they will have housing until two weeks before the start of the
school year, thus leaving their housing prospects in limbo.
"All of these decisions seem like they were based on money,"
Pinon said. "They’re not worried about students."
"There are already people from academic departments going into
rooms and asking to check them out," Pinon said.
After the two years that the academic offices plan to stay in
Hershey, no definitive plans for its use are set. It may again
serve as space for displaced academic departments.
"It will be a valuable resource for a campus pressed for space,"
said Campus Architect Duke Oakley.
But Pinon said that the use of Hershey Hall as office space does
not fulfill the wishes of its benefactor, Mira Hershey.
"She wanted (her) money to be used for students, and it’s my
feeling that the spirit of her will is not being followed," Pinon
said.
ABRAHAM TORRES
Irene Avila, a fourth-year political science student, and Laura
Herrera, a third-year psychology student, attend the Hershey Hall
meeting over future housing possibilities and concerns.