Hatch 'refugees' sacrifice so renovations can begin
By Zack Ruesler, posted 12/12/05

As the fall semester comes to a close, most University of Missouri students find themselves packing for Christmas break, but for the students of Hatch Hall, it is much more. They have to pack up all of their belongings and move to a different residential hall or to off-campus living. They are being forced to say goodbye to their rooms, friends and roommates.

“It is like we are a family, and now, we are being forced to move,” said Corey Dunne, a freshman interior design major. “It is hard to say goodbye to your family.”

Students are angry and confused about why they are being forced to move in the middle of the year, but the campus views it as a necessity for the maintenance and development of the MU residential halls. The renovations in Hatch Hall are scheduled to begin in March of 2006.  Hatch will reopen in the fall semester of 2007. The estimated cost of all renovations in Hatch Hall is $18,444,000.

“There is nothing we can do, so we just have to deal with it and try to make the best of this bad situation,” Chasity Overkamp, a freshman business management major, said. 

In addition to the stress of moving, many students still do not know where they will be relocating.

“It is just frustrating; we are being forced to leave the hall that we love,” said Jennifer Masirinnie, a freshman business major. “To top it all off many of us don’t even know where we are headed when school starts back up.”

Hatch Hall will provide boxes for those students who do not yet know where they will live next semester to pack up their belongings. They will then hire a moving company to move the boxes into the students’ new room assignments. 

Several attempts to reach Frankie Minor, MU director of Residential Life, for comment were unsuccessful.

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