By VIRGINIA ROSE WILLIAMS

vrw001@latech.edu

 

Living in the dorms is an experience to remember, but living in a university apartment is priceless.

In fall 2004, University Park opened for residency to students, many of whom previously lived in the residence halls.

“I like my apartment and having more room to spread out,” Philip Scalfano, a former Neilson Residence Hall resident and a senior electrical engineering major, said.

“I lived in Neilson for three years; [the apartment] is much nicer and the view of the baseball field is great.”

He said there were, however, a few things that could be changed in the apartments.

“Well, I do wish there was more sound insulation,” Scalfano said, referring to the loudness of his neighbors.

He said he can hear his neighbors through his walls, but he admits the residents in his Sutton apartment in University Park are sometimes the cause of noisy disturbances. Not only does Scalfano want better wall insulation, he said he also wants more convenience.

“I would like to have a washer and dryer in my apartment instead of having to go to the laundry room and use quarters to wash clothes,” Scalfano said.

As far as parking goes, he said parking is a problem sometimes, but he likes the new bridge that connects University Park to campus.

Another Sutton resident, Christina Barker, a junior English major, lived in Harper and Pearce residence halls before moving to University Park.

“I like living in Sutton,” Barker said. She said her apartment is “much cleaner than the dorms.”

Barker said she likes being able to have a nice, clean and more private bathroom, instead of the ones in the residence halls.

Barker said she also wishes the vending machines, washers and dryers would take Tech Express.

Chris Lucas, a former resident of Neilson Residence Hall and a junior speech major, now lives in University Park in the Sutton apartments.

”The parking has gotten better,” Lucas said. He said he did not like it when he would have to park in the University Park Thatcher and Caruthers parking lot, which are across the street from his apartment.

“Even the baseball parking lot would get full,” Lucas said.

However, he did have good things to say about the apartment itself.

“I love the kitchen,” Lucas said. “I love having a stove and oven to cook in and cabinets to store food in. And I like having a living room to hang out in.”