Thanks to a crew of nearly 300 drilling after dark, Few Quadrangle is still on schedule to re-open at the beginning of the Spring semester.
"If you were to walk through the building, you may wonder how in the world it will all come together," said Eddie Hull, dean of residence life and executive director of housing services. "There's so many different pieces."
Construction workers at the site said they are working upwards of 12 hours a day, ending their shifts at around 9 p.m. At the current rate of work, the building is expected to be ready for students returning from study abroad programs to move in, Hull said. He added that construction on Few's exterior, however, may take longer.
"The most important thing is to make sure the living environment is squared away," Hull said.
Joe Gonzalez, associate dean for residential life, said longer work days and weekend work have kept the project on schedule.
Few has traditionally been home to three fraternities-Alpha Epsilon Pi, Kappa Alpha Order and Phi Delta Theta-and two selective living groups-Prism and Round Table. Although the groups were moved to various quads around campus this semester, they have all been offered the opportunity to return to Few in Fall 2009, Gonzalez said.
He added, however, that the groups might not return to the same area in which they were housed prior to the renovation.
Additionally, the SLGs are not guaranteed to have their own common rooms upon returning to Few, Gonzalez said.
"As far as next year, we'd love to be back in Few because that's our home base, but we also want to make sure that we can get a common room for our group," said Round Table President Jessica Ferreyra, a senior. "It's really important to have one for events."
Ferreyra added that her group always expected to move back to Few and was never told they would not get their own common room until The Chronicle informed her in an interview Wednesday. She said communication between RLHS and the living groups in Few has been "pretty hazy."
Phi Delta Theta President Will Matthews, a senior, also said he thinks communication between RLHS and the selective living groups has been confusing. Matthews added that he has received multiple e-mails from Gonzalez clarifying that the group would probably not have its own common room when, or if, the group returned to Few.
Although possibly unaffiliated, common rooms will be tech-savvy enough to satisfy both independents and their selective living group peers, said sophomore Eric Dejong, a member of Campus Council's Facilities and Services Committee.
Hull said committee representatives and RLHS staff members are currently selecting furnishings for common rooms. Hull added that he will meet with the affected groups next week about common room space and returning to Few.
Common rooms, however, are not the only spaces that are being upgraded. One of the laundry rooms will be connected to a computer cluster, a study room and media rooms with approximately 60-inch flat-screen televisions and updated technology, Dejong said.
The committee has also discussed opening a game room with pool tables and ping-pong tables. In addition, the sixth floor common room will be laid out as a sort of oasis-like that in Bell Tower-with couches and relaxing lighting.
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