Ferguson Hall renovation sparks questions with students

BY ASHTYN HANSARD / Multimedia Journalist

With school’s reaching their second semester, high school seniors are beginning to look into college housing. But can Tarleton State University house the incoming freshman class while balancing its current students? Tarleton is combating this problem by building a new residential building in place of the Ferguson and Bender Halls.

On February 8, President Dr. James Hurley announced the approval to build a new residence building, which includes renovating Ferguson and Bender Hall. One Ferguson Hall resident, Sophie Henderson, was willing to share her opinions on this matter.

To understand how renovating Ferguson Hall might affect students, we need to know first what it’s like to live in the building. When asked about the benefits of living in Ferguson, Henderson liked the proximity.

“It’s [Ferguson Hall] close to everything, so I never have to walk that far,” Henderson said. “I specifically like that there’s a lot of privacy within the bedrooms. However, it gets pretty loud here sometimes, but that’s just regular sounds of people living here.”

Ferguson is one of the oldest residential buildings on the Tarleton campus. Although Ferguson has its benefits, Henderson has also noticed some faults within the building.

“Honestly, the whole laundry situation is not great,” Henderson says. When asked more about it, she states that there’s only four washers and eight dryers for all 80 girls living in Ferguson, which can cause frustration at times. “There’s not a front desk,” Henderson said. “There’s not a lobby, there’s not a common area, so people just hang out in the hallway. There’s not much space. It’s just rooms.”

With the announcement of the renovation of Ferguson Hall, some questions were sparked among residents. Will this benefit the students? How long will it take? Will the students have even less dorms in the meantime? While not all questions can be answered at the moment, Henderson was able to express her thoughts about the issue.

“I think it’s a good idea [the renovation], but I think it’s bad timing,” Henderson said. “There’s a bunch of people that can’t live on campus and they’re tearing down a residential hall. Overall, I still think it’s a good idea. I think this place needs some attention.”

While progress on the new residential hall will not start until plans are further along, keep an eye out for updates on the new residential hall being added to Tarleton’s Stephenville  campus.