Ball State University continues to stretch the lifespan of its largest residence hall, replacing broken and fallen bricks around the complex as it looks ahead to how long the building can last.
Bricklayers from D.C. Byers, based out of Michigan, spend all day in a 86-foot elevated platform repairing corners so water doesn't penetrate LaFollette Complex. Their contract lasts through October, but Monty Pedigo, who works for the company, said they hope to be done by the time school starts.
"It needs maintenance to tear out the cracked brick," he said. "This is all we do, but the caulking needs repaired and the sealant around the windows."
University officials said they won't tear down the building until other renovation projects are done. Johnson A and B and Elliott halls are in the queue before LaFollette, Kevin Kenyon, associate vice president of Facilities Planning and Management, said.
Renovations for Studebaker East Complex should be done by fall 2012, Kenyon said.
He said Ball State is working on a study this summer to determine a timeline and when LaFollette can be torn down.
"There's certainly been a discussion," he said. "The conventional wisdom is after you finished other renovations, you would start looking at LaFollette."
The residence hall has about 1,900 beds, which doubles the size of Studebaker West Complex, the second largest dorm.
Students have called it the best place to make friends, but the worst place for living conditions with furniture that's several decades old.
Sophomore Brandon Reed said he liked living there as a freshman because of the friends he made. He chose to live at LaFollette last spring after a falling out with his first roommate in Studebaker West.
"Everyone likes to say it's run down and not the best place on campus, but I like the friendly atmosphere," he said.
The theater major said the worst part is just the walk to the Arts and Communication Building. He didn't venture far this summer, living in the neighborhoods just behind LaFollette while he works on an internship with the theatre department.
Ghada Alnahdi, a freshman human resource management major from Saudi Arabia, said she's just glad to live in a residence hall of any kind.
In her native country, women aren't allowed to live on campus. They have to commute instead.
Alnahdi said she's taking a class this summer through the Intense English Institute in the LaFollette basement.
But there's a catch. Since the institute doesn't have its own classrooms, they have to meet at various locations around campus. The room in LaFollette, unfortunately, has old computers and a temperature dial that keeps falling off the wall and keeps the room cold.
But Alnahdi said it's a fine place to live.
"The mattress is uncomfortable. It needs to be changed," she said. "But everything we need is there."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
