That’s how one student described the transformation of the student rooms in Ball. I recently had the opportunity to take a tour of the second, third and fourth floors with the building’s resident director, Mike Gentile. I got to see a double room and quadruple room — both had plenty of room to roam. The former hardwood floors are carpeted, so that saves students from having to buy area rugs (unless, of course, they want to). The residents I spoke with are most happy, as was I, with the central air conditioning (this has been a pretty warm September here in Keuka Park); the only other residence hall with central air is Harrington. The doors on the rooms were also changed; metal ones replace the old wooden ones. “It’s a better feeling of security,” said Gentile. “They swing close automatically.” If you lived in Ball Hall pre-renovation, you had to do your laundry in the basement. Now, there are laundry facilities on every floor — two washers and four dryers, as a matter of fact. The lounge areas feature flat-screen televisions mounted to the walls and the kitchenettes are both practical and pretty. The building is also better handicap accessible, something about which Gentile is glad: “The doors are wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs and there is a handicap-accessible shower in each bathroom.”
-Tanya
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