Matthew Flygare

333 Fairhaven Complex 516 High Street

Bellingham, WA 98225
To: Suzanne Baker, Sandy Fugami
From: Matthew Flygare
Subject: Buchanan Towers Renovations
Date: May 17, 2016
Dear Suzanne Baker and Sandy Fugami,
Residents of Buchanan Towers take pride in the community they are in, with each floor
acting as their own sub-community. The residents have taken notice of the attempt to
better the building by renovating the 407, 507, 607, 707, and 807 suites. If you were to
ask the residents how up-to-date the suites are, a large majority would feel they are
outdated and inefficient.
As great as each floor is at keeping their own peace, an ordinary yet infrequent
disturbance such as stomping around has become a blissful interruption compared to
the sounds of construction. As tolerable as occasional construction is, the residents tend
to find construction on weekends to be unbearable. A major part of the Buchanan
Towers culture is allocating weekends for extra sleep.

The Sleep Problem

Buchanan Tower residents were promised that construction would not occur on the
weekends, but in order to make deadlines, this promise was broken. As insignificant as
this may seem, it has already had some drastic effects on student life. I have seen a
handful of students be forced to catch up on sleep on the uncomfortable chairs in the
third floor and elevator lounge. I do not believe this was the intention when deciding to
start renovations during February in winter quarter, but this sadly is how the current
situation stands.
It seems that we run into a bit of a catch-22 situation with the current state of suites at
Buchanan Towers: all of the suites need renovations yet the construction required
causes students physical and mental stress due to sleep loss and constant noise.
Fourth floor resident Connor Maletich said that construction is loud and often wakes
me up, making it pretty hard to sleep. I usually take weekends to sleep in and make up
for the time all of my homework keeps me up for. The loudest sounds, usually grinding,
can be heard all the way down the furthest hallway. Complaints about construction were
nominal during the beginning of the quarter, but now since weekends are now riddled
with hammers, construction has become a problem. Not only would residents benefit
physically from quieter weekends, their mental health and academic performance would
also improve (or return to normal) due to a decrease in stress.
The Need for Sleep
It would be difficult to argue against the importance of sleep, and would be a disservice
to the residents as a whole to minimalize their needs as students. Sleep shouldnt be
just a privilege, and the weekends should be time for students to take much needed
time away from schoolwork. It seems like the residents of Buchanan Towers are now
sacrificing their sleep and personal life for a rushed development. These renovations
are all taking place in currently vacant suites, meaning no one currently living in
Buchanan Towers is benefitting from the construction. The simple solution to this recent
issue is to suspend construction on the weekends as promised. Weekends, however,
are now utilized in order to rush construction.
One might think that rushing renovations for deadlines is worth the sacrifice, considering
finals week is coming up. That sounds all well and good, except the construction began
near the end of winter quarter and never ceased all the way through the current day. So
when looking at purely the end goal of finals week, one forgets that exams are usually
an ongoing and equally important aspect of a course. Giving students weekends as a
grace period during construction ensures that they will always have a few days where
their freedoms remain unhindered so they can maintain a routine for both school and
sleep.
Cost and Benefits
One might think that only the nearby dorms really have to deal with the construction, so
it really isnt a problem for anyone else and therefore isnt a big deal. I would then ask,
why would one students wellbeing not matter if everyone elses does? I would put forth
that even if a single resident had been affected by the weekend construction, that their

needs be considered and the school should stick to their original promise to relegate
construction on the weekends.
The cost of excluding construction on the weekends would be minimal in comparison to
the benefits. Relegating construction on the weekends would result in boosts to
residents overall physical health, mental health, happiness, and wellbeing. Since
students are already paying inflated costs to live on campus, sacrificing an early
deadline would essentially pay them back with an investment towards their futures.
While extending the construction period may cost extra money, you would preserve the
futures of the current residents while still improving the potential residents futures as
well. Students grades would improve, and they would be subject to far less stress.
A continued disregard for student wellbeing due to weekend construction is detrimental
to a students success as a whole. The goal of any school residence should be to
provide welfare for their students, and this disregard is depriving students of exactly
that. Considering most students have class from 8 am to 2 pm Monday until Friday, the
weekday renovation efforts would continue having minimal effect on the lives of
students as they carry out their ultimate goal of attending class to graduate. Another
fourth floor resident Preston Slane said I remember construction only being on
weekdays, and that was okay since I had class for most of the day.
Sleep Solution
While far fewer students live on campus over the summer quarter, the university could
utilize this time to complete the suite renovations. The students during spring quarter
could finally use their dorm rooms as intended a place to sleep, study, and live. Simply
sacrificing weekends for construction and extending into the summer quarter would
ensure that the residents during the current spring quarter are provided an adequate
space to finish up their coursework before the fall.
If renovations only occurred during weekdays, residents would feel more respected and
satisfied, especially since the original agreement was for weekday only construction. As
a student who knows the struggles of balancing sleep with coursework and social life, I
know exactly how crucial silence is for not only a good sleep, but an efficient studying
and working environment. An argument against this might be that residents have
multiple areas around Buchanan Towers and the campus to study. As this is true in
some cases, the bigger issue really is that they dont have anywhere else around
campus to sleep. Also, considering the renovations are on each and every floor,
Buchanan Towers is all but useless for a supposedly quiet environment during the
weekends when construction ensues.
Resting Easy
The superb living conditions at Buchanan Towers are a marvel for on-campus housing,
and nothing quite matches the quality suites provided. However, the breach in
agreement for holding off construction on the weekends has drastically lowered the
quality of living for residents and is a detriment to the futures of those who anticipate the
weekend for either sleep or doing coursework in peace. By returning to the previously
agreed-upon weekday schedule for renovations, you would alleviate the stresses

currently experienced by the residents afflicted by the incessant sounds of construction

and hopefully be able to repair the damage already done.

Sincerely,

Matthew Flygare