Posted: 09/05/07

Hodson Hall gets a new look
Upperclassmen apartments and other dorms remodeled

Mary Cate Connors| fact checker
mconnors@smcvt.edu

St. Michael’s College has made big changes in its residential areas this year. Offices and lounges in the quad were converted into rooms in order to provide more space for excess students, and Alumni Hall was renovated. In Hodson Hall, the interior was partially remodeled. Students living in Hodson now have new hardwood floors, appliances and cabinets.

Renovations: preparing for students

Michael Samara, dean of students, says that Hodson Hall had a face-lift this year with painting, new carpets and other touch-ups for the opening of the 2007 academic year.  

This year, the Hodson common rooms were redone with brand new hardwood floors. (Larry Frisoli, photo)

“Hodson was built in the late ‘70s and it’s an apartment type construction that was built with residential rather than institutional materials,” Samara says. “So periodically we need to repair, replace and renovate to keep the place up.”

Lou DiMasi, director of Residence Life, says that Hodson and Alumni Hall both had work done over the summer.

“There was painting everywhere, and the bathrooms all got pick-me-ups as well,” DiMasi says. “The facilities crew really did an outstanding job there.”

Senior Laura Wesley currently lives in Hodson 303.

"We have a brand new floors and a fridge," Wesley says. "It's great."

According to DiMasi, St. Michael’s usually chooses one residential spot to upgrade over the summer. Two years ago, it was Ryan Hall that had remodeling. This year, since no one lived in Alumni Hall during the summer months, the stairs and boilers were both redone, as were certain parts of Hodson Hall, he says.

“To tell you the truth, some areas in Hodson really needed a redo after graduation last year," DiMasi says. "They experienced some heavy use areas."

Hodson had serious issues at the end of last year with property destruction and students were held accountable for the damage. The damages from last year's residents were fixed, but they were not the reason Hodson was renovated, DiMasi says.

According to DiMasi, Hodson is one of the older buildings on campus, joining ranks with Founders and Senior Hall.

Hodson Hall was slated for use in early July for summer activities, so Physical Plant worked hard to make sure the repairs were all done in late May and June, he says.

“I’m very excited about the upgrades in Hodson and around campus,” DiMasi says. “It’s great that the school was able to pick that up and give us some opportunity for students to experience a nice standard of living."

Moving in
           
Hodson resident and senior, Courtney Richard, was surprised to have the hardwood floors in her new apartment.

Along with new floors, new kitchen cabinets and refrigerators were installed in Hodson. (Larry Frisoli, photo)

Richard and her roommate Wesley both say they are very satisfied with their renovated living space.

“Hodson has everything that a townhouse has, except the rooms are bigger,” Richard says. “I’m really happy with it.”

Richard and Wesley have both lived in Cashman Hall for the past two years. Wesley and her roommates chose to live in Hodson this year mostly to be closer to their friends, Wesley says.  

“I really like living here better than I liked the suites,” Wesley says. “We know a lot of people in the building and a lot of our friends are here.”

Senior James Fraser lives in the basement of Hodson. Fraser says that he would rather be living elsewhere, but Hodson isn’t too uncomfortable.  

“It’s okay, it’s not a townhouse,” Fraser says.  “But no one would pull the best number and choose to live in Hodson.”

Leftover issues

Despite last year's damages in Hodson, there haven't been many complaints this year from staff or students, DiMasi says.

Richard says she doesn’t have many issues with the building itself. The only real problem that Richard and Wesley encountered in their apartment was with the locks on the doors to their bedrooms.

Both Hodson and Alumni Hall have new carpets in the hallways. (Larry Frisoli, photo)

"There are locks on our doors that we don’t have keys to,” Richard says. “And one of my roommate’s doors just has a hole where the lock should be.”
           
Richard's RA has already offered help to some of these problems, she says.
           
The biggest problem for Fraser is the lack of a storage closet in his downstairs apartment. Since he and his roommates are in the basement, the closet is filled with pipes and is unusable, he says.
           
Andrew Reid lives in the Hodson basement with Fraser. He says there isn’t anything wrong with his room either.
           
“My smoke detector kind of hangs down from the ceiling, but that’s about it,” Reid says. “And we’ve seen a fair amount of other apartments in this building and they look fine, too.”  
           
According to DiMasi, there have also been some complaints from staff about students painting in their rooms in Hodson and other townhouses. Students shouldn’t paint their rooms and apartments because it undermines the work done over the summer and costs the college money, DiMasi says.
           
“You just can’t do it here, it cuts into labor costs at the end of the year,” DiMasi says.
           
DiMasi says that if students have any room issues, an incident report should be filed and would be taken up with the Student Life office.