Chaffee Hall Reopened

A new dorm on the campus of University of Bridgeport is now open for business. Chaffee Hall, which was renovated over the summer now, has something none of the other dorms have: air conditioning.

And with the temperatures being considerably high during the first part of the semester, some students have been complaining about the heat within their rooms.

Chaffee Hall is considered the "cool dorm," literally and figuratively, by Shanice Drakes, a sophomore and staff writer for The Scribe is a resident of Chaffee Hall. In Drakes' opinion there is no better choice for a dorm.

"It's a cleaner version of Cooper but with air conditioning," Drakes said.

"I can't even sleep at some nights [because of the heat,]" resident of Cooper Hall, Sophomore Jolie Ciss said.

With the high temperatures of Bridgeport being in the mid-80s, it is much warmer inside the dorms.  Cooper has Plexiglass windows; it decreases the ventilation, according to Robert Vass, Director of Residential Life and Student Conduct.

The benefits of the renovated Chaffee are its central location, it's newly renovated with new furniture and it has air conditioning.

Edna Marant, a senior and resident of Chaffee said, "Compared to Bodine (previous dorm) Chaffee is more up-to-date as how college living should be. Also, it's a more mature atmosphere and peaceful."

 "Chaffee gives students a dorm to look forward to and work towards [being that only upperclassmen can reside there]," Vass said.

Vass said that there is a $500 per semester charge extra for Chaffee residents, which is for the air conditioning, new furniture, and the remodeled look. Long term plans and goals are to renovate all of the dorms one by one, and install air conditioning when done.

Chaffee's renovation is the "first step to getting things done," Vass said.