Posted on: Thursday, August 19, 2004
UH opens dorms to arriving freshmen
By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Education Writer
As University of Hawai'i freshman Casey Medeiros made her way to her new dorm room, she gushed about how much easier it will be to get to classes and study than it would be if she stayed home in Kapolei.
Andrew Shimabuku • The Honolulu Advertiser Casey, surveying the room that represents her first real taste of freedom, assured him, "Guaranteed there should be enough room."
As he hurried downstairs to gather the second load of boxes, Casey Medeiros admired her view of St. Louis Heights and talked about how much she was looking forward to meeting her roommate and other people on campus, and getting acclimated to dormitory life.
It's a scene that played out as freshmen and their parents lugged boxes and suitcases into elevators, down tight hallways and into warm rooms on the first day to move into dormitories at the Manoa campus.
Students dorming this year will get the first real taste of Manoa Town, or "M Town," as the residents' welcoming bags proclaimed. When classes start on Monday, residential students will be treated to a college town atmosphere, complete with a new cafe, 24-hour computer lab, study centers and outdoor stage.
Once the old Gateway Hall cafeteria gets a new roof, the dorms will have their own 24-hour library featuring wireless connections to the Internet, conversation nooks and food to go.
Some students were visibly upset by their dorm arrangements, however, particularly those who had been expecting doubles and registered to find an extra bed, desk and dresser pushed into the middle of a room that can comfortably accommodate two. Few had checked into the tripled-up rooms at Hale Kahawai, so it was unclear whether they would be able to arrange the furniture to allow all the roommates to sit at their desks while opening their dresser drawers and closet doors.
Those students are lucky compared with the 700 to 800 students who got no dorm rooms at all because of a surge in fall enrollment. Despite Honolulu's tight rental market, Housing Director Margit Watts believes students managed to find other living arrangements or decided to live at home and commute.
"I'm assuming I don't have 800 homeless students," she said.
'Aiea mom Joanne Kagawa, one of the founders of the Friends of M Town parent organization, learned in July that her daughter would not get housing because her family lived too close. Since her daughter will have to commute, Kagawa said, "We bought her a Corolla."
Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8014.
Her father, Russell, following behind with a push-cart piled high with a refrigerator, microwave and other belongings, wasn't as enthusiastic. As his daughter pushed open the door, he exclaimed, "Ho, small these rooms! Your stuff is going to take up half the room!"
Danny Straton, 18, an incoming freshman from Eugene, Ore., checks into Hale Ilima dormitory. Opening day brought reactions from delight to dismay as students encountered their new homes.
