East Campus and West Campus both stand on the same campus, but distinguishing characteristics cause many to label East and West as two distinct cultures. East Campus includes the East Campus Apartments, East and West Laville halls, Miller Hall, McVoy Hall, Herget Hall, the Horseshoe and Highland Dining Unit and is backed by the picturesque sorority row and the University Lakes. West Campus includes West Campus Apartments, Broussard Hall, the Pentagon, Pentagon Dining Unit and Kirby-Smith which is backed by a less-than-picturesque neighborhood. With the closing of Kirby-Smith and Blake halls and the renovations being done to Graham Hall, the face of Residential Life is changing. But long before these changes were made, East and West had established themselves as two worlds separated only by classrooms.
PROS and CONS
Several students who live on the East side of campus said they are envious of the Pentagon Dining Hall located on the West side of campus. “West Campus has a much better dining hall than we do,” said Bradley Tolar, microbiology junior and ECA resident. “They have better chicken.” Students on the West side said they are envious of the East side’s close proximity to the University Recreational Center. Tolar also said he likes living in ECA because of its close proximity to his classes in the Life Sciences Building. Tolar’s main complaint is East Campus parking. “Parking is definitely a problem since they closed the Blake [Hall] lot,” Tolar said. “In comparison the lot behind Kirby-Smith is empty. I don’t know if they expect us to park on the opposite side of campus or what, but it definitely sucks.” Tolar said some days he has a problem finding an East Campus parking space at all. Robbie Gilmore, general studies junior and East Laville Hall resident, shared Tolar’s sentiment. “Parking over here is horrible. You can barely find a parking space,” Gilmore said. Gilmore said the benefits of East Campus living include its close proximity to his classes. “East Campus is so close to my classes and the Union, and the Rec is right there too,” Gilmore said. Sabina Tungaraza, accounting junior and East Laville Hall resident assistant, said she likes living on the east side of campus because it is close to CEBA, where she has most of her classes, as well as URec. Derek George, biochemistry junior and RA for West Laville Hall, said he used to live in Kirby-Smith. “The west side is nice because it’s in walking distance of a lot of restaurants,” George said. Restaurants within walking distance of West Campus include Wendy’s, Raising Cane’s, Inga’s and Mr. Gatti’s. As to which side of campus he preferred, George said it depended on his major because departments are clustered in certain parts of campus. “When I lived in Kirby, all my classes were on the other side of campus,” George said. He added that the West Campus dining opportunities were more plentiful. “Pentagon Dining was better though,” he said. Casey Boudreaux, marketing senior and RA in West Campus Apartments, said she used to be an RA in West Laville. Boudreaux said West Campus, especially WCA, is more laid back than East Campus because the east is more centrally located. “The east side is more in the middle of everything,” Boudreaux said. “The West side is a little more secluded.” Boudreaux said the people in WCA were also different from the people on the east side of campus, lending to its laid-back atmosphere. “There are more athletes in WCA, and they are hardly ever there during the day because of practice and other things. They are mainly just there to sleep,” Boudreaux said. “It’s not as occupied. Parking is a lot easier.” Another difference between the two sides of campus is the amount of men and women who live on each side. According to the Department of Residential Life, there are 2,096 women in residence on the east side of campus to the 1,233 men. In comparison there are more than twice as many men than women on the west side of campus, 742 men to 308 women.
EFFORTS TO IMPROVE
There has been ongoing construction efforts to improve both sides of campus. Mimi Lavalle, Residential Life communications manager, said a 15-year, $290 million master plan has been implemented to improve housing on campus. “Especially with the Flagship Agenda, students want better and more contemporary housing,” Lavalle said. “We want to meet those needs.” Lavalle said the plan began in 2001 when the University commissioned an architecture firm to develop the Master Plan. This was followed in 2003 with the opening of the West Campus Apartments and in 2004 with the reopening of Broussard Hall as an information technology residential college. Lavalle said this year Residential Life began Blake Hall renovations and will be adding a three-story wing to the building. Blake Hall should reopen in 2008 as the College of Agriculture residential college. Lavalle said the most noticeable construction on campus is the Graham Residential College, which will redefine West Campus image. “The Graham Residential College is expected to open in January 2008 with the first two buildings featuring double semi-suite bedrooms and will be the home of the College of Engineering and the College of Business residential colleges,” Lavalle said. Spring 2008 will see the beginning of renovations to East and West Laville halls, a project that should reach completion by 2011. Lavalle said there are currently no set plans for Kirby-Smith Hall, which is not currently being used to house residents. “We are still considering all possibilities for Kirby,” Lavalle said. Lavalle said there are also less noticeable continuing projects Residential Life has implemented to improve both sides of campus. These projects include interior painting and new carpets in East Campus Apartments, power washing and exterior painting in Evangeline, Highland, Annie Boyd and Louise Garig halls and new furniture for the lobbies of Herget, McVoy, Highland and West Laville halls. In addition Lavalle said there are now pool tables in every residence hall. “It’s not the same cinderblock rooms,” Lavalle said. “We’re really trying to upgrade and provide contemporary style housing for our students.”
SAFETY
Safety on each side of campus has always been an issue especially in light of recent robberies in the East Campus Apartments and Miller Hall parking lots. In spite of this, Tolar said he feels safer on the east side of campus. “They had like 10 car windows smashed in my freshman year,” Tolar said of West Campus. Maj. Lawrence Rabalais LSUPD spokesman said no part of campus is free from crime. “The entire campus is subject to the elements of crime,” Rabalais said. George also said he thinks he is safer living in East Campus despite the recent armed robberies Oct. 24. “It feels a little more dangerous [on the west side],” George said. Rabalais said the East and West Campus apartments have more domestic disturbances. “One problem there is that there are more domestic-type and disturbance-type crimes,” Rabalais said. As to the East Campus robberies, Rabalais said the LSUPD is still investigating them despite having leads on the make of the vehicle used. “We are still looking for the persons,” he said. “It is one of our high priority cases.”
—–Contact Caitlyn Scott at cscott@lsureveille.com