Resident Testimonials
The following is a collection of anonymous resident testimonials (published here with the permission of the respective parties). As you can see, you are NOT alone in your grievances.
The thing that initially struck me about West Campus was its serene setting. Although the facilities were a little aged, the locality was beautiful. The quality of the family housing here was a large factor in deciding to uproot my family and move here to UCSB. Since then, my home has been over run by dirt, smog, rodents (from the initial clearing of the field), and noise, just to name a few things. The overall quality of life here has significantly depreciated, and we have since been regularly bombarded by a multitude of inconveniences due to our proximity to the construction site. For example, access to our parking space has become subject to the whim of the UCSB staff and the construction team who regularly park in it or reserve it for projects at last minute notice. I have since been informed that our field is being turned into a parking lot, and our rent is to be increased over the summer, all of which is leading to the eventual destruction of West Campus family housing. I now often question whether UCSB was the right choice for my family. Clearly, the quality of our lives is of no consequence to the university.
Waking to bulldozers, morning after morning after morning, has caused a lot of psychological stress in this household....and then having their roar making study impossible until 5pm is precisely the opposite of what graduate housing is meant to provide. The worst part is, this was done without advance warning - or else many of the affected residents could have made necessary adjustments in advance.
Work starts early, sometimes before 7. Heavy machinery interrupts the sleeping schedule of my two small children. The air quality has deteriorated in the area, my children suffer from respiratory weaknesses that has resulted in constant sickness in the past 4 months.
Dear UCSB: No one should have to live next to ongoing construction site, especially when they are in school and need to study. My family and I should be given compensation because our rights as a California tenet have been significantly impacted from the ongoing construction. The on going noise is a nuisance (loud clanging, drilling, tool noise, thuds, ground shaking, beeping, etc.), right to clean air on premises (dust on cars, excessive dust in the home) disruption in the flow of traffic, delays, and safety concerns (road work slow downs traffic flow, having to drive over obstacles such as (muddy puddles, rubber hoses, pot holes, etc.) when entering and exiting residence. Since the construction, I have been woken up at 7am several times a month by loud earth shattering thumps and bangs where my walls shook and pictures dropped. Constant noise from the construction site near West Campus has made it difficult to study or reside in this community. It is bad enough UCSB made Davidson library a construction site, now my own home is impacted as well.
Why Should you Care? YOUR RENT IS BEING RAISED!!!Over the next few years, your monthly rental rates will be raised by 3% (each year). Why should you pay MORE MONEY for LESS SERVICES?!
UAW Local 2865's Letter of SympathyThe UAW 2865 -- the union representing more than 12,000 graduate teaching assistants, tutors, and readers across the University of California system -- has written a letter of sympathy to express the union's profound dismay and disappointment with the intransigent posture that Housing & Residential Services has taken towards its members who are concerned with the ongoing construction near West Campus Family Housing, as well as with the rent increases they are being forced to bear amidst these hazardous conditions.
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Upcoming Construction Projects NEAR YOU!!!Sierra Madre Apartments
San Joaquin Apartments
West Campus Main Lawn
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Community Forum
The following is a community forum with which you can start and or join in on any construction-related discussions. Let your voices be heard!!!