Photo Courtesy of Pepperdine University
The newest addition to Pepperdine’s facilities, Seaside Residence Hall, is on schedule for completion just prior to the start of the fall 2018 semester. Director of Housing Operations Robin Gore said until a few days leading up to New Student Orientation on August 20, 2018, no student will be allowed to occupy their Seaside dorm.
“HRL is to gain occupancy status just prior to NSO,” Gore said. “This means that any student who is required and approved to be on campus early and who have a fall placement of Seaside can expect to be placed in temporary housing until HRL is able to gain access in Seaside just prior to NSO.”
Construction crews experienced multiple weather-related delays since the start of the process, which slowed down building development, Gore said. Heavy spring rain and extreme summer heat in 2017 halted progress, though this school year had no impediments, which allowed construction crews to make up for lost time in order to meet the target deadline.
The university posted the projected monetary rates for the new residence hall, which are subject to change until Pepperdine Board of Regents approves the final rate, Gore said. The current projected rate per person for Seaside is $6,200 per semester, making it both the newest and most expensive residence hall on campus. Rockwell Towers and Drescher W Block are the next most expensive residence hall options on campus, with both costing $6,100 per semester for the 2018-2019 academic year. Drescher W Block differs from the Drescher apartments, which consist of four single rooms as well as a common area and kitchen and cost $950 more than Seaside and Rockwell Towers per semester.
The 458-person, suite-style residence hall will consist of three connected buildings, each with their own entry and style. According to Gore, the new dorm is part of the university’s Pepperdine 2020: Boundless Horizons Strategic Goals, which consists of five major goals the university hopes to achieve in the coming years. Seaside residence hall falls under goal three: “Improve residential life through the new Campus Life Project that will include the construction a new residence hall for juniors,” Gore said.
Morris Chen, a junior and theatre arts major said being the first to occupy the space is part of the reason he wanted to live in the dorm for the upcoming school year.
“The fact I will be one of the first people to move in and live in Seaside makes me stoked for move-in day,” Chen said. “I know that I won’t really be far from main campus, as well as my car in Rho parking lot.”
Lexa Risjad, a sophomore integrated marketing and communications major, said she looks forward to the variation among residents, which include students ranging from sophomores to seniors.
“I felt that as a freshman last year, it was difficult to mingle and make new friends with different students from different years,” Risjad said. “Now that the housing is mixed, it’s easier to communicate and hang with different years and actually get to live with some on the same floor.”
Junior secondary education English and journalism major Miranda Battaglia agreed with Risjad, noting that it will be a good way to meet new people. However, she said the age differences may cause some potential issues.
“It’s a good way to meet new people,” Battaglia said. “It’ll also be interesting because people are at different points in their life. When you’re younger you like to go out a lot more and when you’re older people tend to say in more, so I could see annoyance issues with the differences in that.”
The new residence hall, which is partially aimed at providing a community for students returning from abroad, will provide students the ability to socialize and coexist, Gore said.
“President Benton has envisioned groups of students living together in suites where a beautiful community kitchen and large outdoors spaces provide a stage for special meals and outdoor movie nights together,” Gore said.
Chen said he looks forward to the ability to meet and and socialize with new people.
“Simply getting a chance to know more people will be a benefit for me, someone who finds it challenging to meet and connect with other people,” Chen said.
__________
Follow the Pepperdine Graphic on Twitter: @PeppGraphic
