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Photography by Reed Hutchinson
UCLA Photographic Services
Graduate student Guido Schauer is signing up for a second
year at Weyburn Terrace after problems in his apartment were
fixed.
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Getting a fresh start
Weyburn helps attract top grad students
BY Cynthia Lee
UCLA Today Staff
Construction of Weyburn Terrace, UCLA’s 1,400-bed housing
complex for single graduate students, is nearly finished, and already
it is a magnet for top graduate students, academic administrators
said. The new complex is such a draw, in fact, that academic departments
are eager to have more spaces for their recruitment effort.
After a bumpy start last year due to one of the wettest winters
on record and problems attributed to shortages of building materials
and labor, Weyburn is off to a fresh beginning. BBQs are being installed
in advance of summer. And residents are looking forward to taking
their laptops outside to study in the sunny central courtyards,
equipped for wireless connectivity. New medical students will move
in later this month. And the 642 residents already there are now
deciding whether they want to sign up for a second year.
“The word that we’re getting from the campus is that
Weyburn Terrace is helping to restore UCLA’s competitive edge,”
said Michael Foraker, director of UCLA Housing.
Half the beds in Weyburn are being allotted to department administrators,
who can offer the spaces to sought-after students to rent. The other
half are for returning residents, who are guaranteed two years of
housing. Spaces that are left will be distributed through a lottery.
The number of departmental requests for beds has jumped dramatically,
said Ross Shideler, associate dean of the Graduate Division and
chair of the committee that sets policy on space allocation. “It’s
as if the schools and departments suddenly recognize that Weyburn
Terrace has great appeal to students. It’s going to be difficult
in the coming year to fill all their requests.”
Elizabeth Cheadle, assistant dean of the law school, said that
Weyburn has helped to bolster recruitment. “New students understand
that a legal education is significantly more rigorous than anything
they have experienced before. Moving into Weyburn Terrace simplifies
their lives and makes them instantly part of a graduate student
community.”
The appeal of Weyburn is obvious. The complex of seven Mediterranean-style
apartment buildings built around landscaped courtyards looks nothing
like a residence hall. With arched doorways, tiled roofs, palm trees,
study lounges and apartments that include basic cable TV, Internet
service, utilities and appliances, Weyburn rents are approximately
22% to 27% below market rate, said Shirley Wong, associate director
of University Apartments.
When the complex opened last fall, it was only 42% complete, with
586 of a total of 1,400 beds available. The delay in meeting its
original September 2004 deadline for completion caused numerous
problems. Guido Schauer, a graduate student in psychology, recalled
that when he arrived, his apartment lacked an oven, and there were
signs that the builder had cut corners.
On-site staff were cooperative, Schauer said, but they were very
busy attending to problems. While staff could respond to most service
requests within 72 hours, about 5% of the problems had to be addressed
directly by the contractor or vendor.
“Everyone, from the maintenance crew to the manager and the
office staff, tried to do the best they could to resolve my problems,”
Schauer said. Now that conditions in his apartment have improved,
he has decided to stay for a second year.
There’s another sign of Weyburn Terrace’s appeal, Shideler
added. Some students are already saying: “I wish I could stay
there at least three years.”
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