In a student-packed residence hall, finding the time and concentration to study is difficult enough. This year, however, freshmen have one more distraction thrown their way.
The Sutter Hall construction has been rattling some students' and professors' brains since the beginning of the school year.
"It doesn't really bother me. It does get really loud, though," said freshman Lincoln Bartlett, a Whitney Hall resident. "Every morning when I wake up, it sounds like a bad guy from 'Super Mario Brothers' is being killed outside my window. It's like wa, wa, wa, wa, wa."
Construction on Sutter Hall started before the school year began, with breaks for resident hall move-in days.
The project may continue into 2010, said Jenna Wright, capital projects and planning specialist for Facilities Management and Services.
Bartlett's room is on the side of Whitney Hall opposite the construction, so he does not always feel the full effects, he said.
Not all students are as lucky.
Freshman Vanessa Gadow's dorm room is on the corner of Whitney Hall closest to the construction, and it vibrates her entire room some days, she said.
"My roommate actually woke up the other day and thought there was an earthquake," she said.
Gadow's neighbor, freshman Gen Davey agreed and expressed other concerns.
"I don't know how we're supposed to study," she said. "It vibrates the whole frickin' building."
In a memorandum sent to housing applicants before the school year started, residents were warned the new project might cause "noisy, dusty and somewhat disruptive periods for the campus."
The disruptions seem to be worse than expected for some students and teachers, such as Jessica Eggen, a communications instructor with a classroom in Tehama Hall.
"It really only affected our class one day," Eggen said. "But it was some kind of massive noise that was distracting to myself and the students. There were people that were actually scared and everybody was wondering what was going on."
The memorandum also stated the construction would start no earlier than 8 a.m. and end no later than 6 p.m.
"It's stupid. I know they want to get their work done, but couldn't they just start a little later?" Gadow said. "It just sucks because even if you don't have early classes, you are forced to wake up early. And if I come in here to study, it's really hard to concentrate."
In early September, Whitney, Lassen and Shasta residents found letters in their mailboxes notifying them the disruptions might get worse starting mid-September.
The letters came with a set of orange earplugs, which may come in handy for at least the remainder of the school year, because Sutter Hall is not scheduled for occupancy until fall 2010.
Kelsey Eidbo can be reached at keidbo@theorion.com
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