Office of Housing held a forum with students Thursday night to answer any questions that students had about destructing Austin Peay Hall and the new one that will be built in its place.

The first meeting took place at 8 p.m. in the E-side Ellington living room with a second meeting at 9 p.m. in the B-side McCord living room. Earl Wright, director of housing, conducted both meetings and answered questions that students had.

This project, hopefully to be completed and opened for the fall semester 2005, has been the result of extensive research and even an online survey. Research concluded that students are willing to pay for a private bedroom and bathroom.

Unlike Martin Place, it is hoping that the new dorm will be brick, similar to Paul Meek Library and the University Center.

It is uncertain on whether Austin Peay will change names or not, there is one criteria if the name does decide to change. All residence halls at public universities in Tennessee are named after former Tennessee governors.

Since the new dorm will have few restrictions, there have still been questions about having pets. The office of housing is not allowing pets for the reason that no matter how much cleaning is done, there will be some pet dander left behind, which would irritate those with allergies to animals.

The big problem with the Y-dorms is the lock on the bathroom doors. Since the lock is located on the bedroom side of the door, one cannot lock the door while the bathroom is occupied.

With each occupant having their own bathroom just off of their bedroom, this would allow for more control of the bathroom from having others inside.

Another issue with the bathrooms was whether or not there are going to be bathtubs in the bathrooms. Many students have been requesting bathtubs because it is difficult for them to take care of personal hygiene things. Another problem with the showers as they are now is that the curtain moves inward while taking a shower.

Since Austin Peay was closed to do asbestos checks and to remove items from the building, students were forced to adapt to the situation. Some students who requested private rooms were not able to get them and were forced to either share a room or transfer schools. This problem caused housing to lose customers.

While visitation will be less restrictive the new dorm will be divided by gender. Each apartment style dorm will come with a living room, kitchen and laundry machines in each suite. It will be set up in units consisting of two, three and four unit apartments. Each apartment will be off of the stairwell, similar to the setup of Martin Place. The first floor will be set up for handicapped residents because there will be no elevators in the new dorm.

“It’s time for an update. More electrical outlets, new lighting and new setup will definitely help UTM,” said Joe Horton, a senior animal science major who is a Resident Assistant in Browning Hall.

While the details are still tentative at this time, Housing hopes to have landscaping similar to the front side of McCord and include recreational areas for students to use. Once the first two buildings are complete, the dorms will have a common area that students can congregate and mingle, to create lasting bonds. This common area will be in a place that students naturally funnel through.

The asbestos checks have been done and there was minor asbestos found on pipe joints in maintenance rooms but it will be taken care of before the dorm comes down. There is no need for students to worry about asbestos being in the air because it will be sealed off and contained before the destruction.

“These meetings were set up to get the students’ input and let them know that they are a part of the process, even if they will be graduated by the time the new dorms open,” said Wright.

Look for similar meetings in the future to discuss how the project is moving along and to get input from students on things such as carpeting, colors and other aspects they would like to see incorporated into the new dorm.