The Future of the Residence Halls at UWL

Sam Stroozas, Staff Reporter

The Residence Halls are a great place to reside, but they can also have their downfalls. One of the largest issues with living in the Residence Halls is how outdated each one is, but soon, that will all be changing.

Starting spring of two thousand and nineteen, Laux Hall, a primary first-year experience Residence Hall, will be the first of the traditional dorms to get renovated. This renovation has been eager news to many University of Wisconsin – La Crosse students and offers students who are graduating a semester early or studying abroad to live in Laux during the fall of two thousand and eighteen. By shutting down the residence hall from January to the fall of the new academic year, we will see the first transition of residents in the new Residence Halls in the fall of twenty nineteen.

In an interview with Doug Pearson, the Executive Director of Facilities Planning and Management, he shared what these lucky first round of students can expect in the fall of twenty nineteen and what will happen to the rest of the traditional dorms.

Pearson started with the non-aesthetic renovations of Laux Hall, “The plan to renovate Laux Hall will include electrical, data, and lighting upgrades.”

These internal renovations will greatly aid to the Residence Halls because of the lack of light in many of the traditional dorms, and outdated electrical wiring.

Moving on to the protocol realm of the renovations, Pearson noted, “There will also be an installing of fire sprinklers, and a new fire alarm system. Elevators will be installed as well.”

With the touch-up of the fire system safety and the opportunity for each traditional dorm to have an elevator, UWL will be a safer and an easier accessible campus for wheelchair users. Currently, Eagle Hall and Reuter Hall are the only two residence halls to have elevators along with Wentz Hall having one that is not currently open to residents.

For the cosmetic upgrades in the Residence Halls, Pearson added, “Rooms and halls will be receiving new paint along with new carpet. Each bathroom will also be updated and modernized.”

Many students are looking forward to this particular upgrade in the residence halls, UWL junior, Allison Lemke, stated “The renovations will be exciting for UWL and I wish I was here to experience living in the residence halls post-renovation. With the upgrades we will have as a campus, we are doing everything to work towards a modernized climate of living and learning.”

Looking forward to the future Pearson concluded with, “Our plan is to renovate an older hall each year for the next seven years after Laux Hall is renovated. The scope of work will be the same for all these projects. After Laux Hall is completed, White Hall will be the next project and after that, the order is still being discussed.”

With enrollment at a high at UWL, the renovations of the Residence Halls have been much needed. By improving the Residence Halls that have not been updated since the nineteen seventies or prior, UWL is creating a more efficient environment for the average student and promoting an overall better experience while living on campus.