Students move into Pacific Inn

By Cara Quackenbush

The more than 30 students who were living at the Mariani Inn for the past five weeks moved into their new home over the weekend; the Pacific Inn. Meanwhile, school administrators have begun negotiations to potentially purchase the off-campus motel.

Located on the south side of campus, next door to Safeway and Taco Bell, the Pacific Inn is a logical and more convenient place to house students said Linda Franke, director of Housing and Residence Life.

"It seemed like the right thing to do because it is so much closer. It's actually closer to Benson than the Alamedas," she said, referring to the off-campus dorm that was once a Travelodge motel.

Joe Sugg, director of facilities, confirmed that he has provided the administration with the information they would need to make a decision about purchasing the motel. He also said that the university will still go for ward with their plans for an on-campus housing expansion even if the motel is purchased.

According to Franke, the Pacific Inn was initially the department's first choice when they faced the housing crisis at the beginning of the year. But neither the Pacific Inn nor the Candlewood Suites, which is located next to the Caltrain station across the street from campus, were interested in housing students at that time.

Due to the economic downturn and the fall of the dot-com industry, said Frank, the economy is not what is was even this past summer, making the motel more willing to cooperate.

"Either they were too full or did not want to take on students," said Franke. "But now the Pacific Inn has the space and management is willing to work with us."

Sophomore Patrick Connolly noted that there were two big disadvantages to living at Mariani's. "One was the lack of Internet access," he said. "And the other was the distance."

For students who do not own cars, the only options for getting to school were carpooling, biking, or taking the bus. While at Mariani's, the students were offered either a bus pass or $40.

Sophomore Thuc Le said that he preferred to ride his bike, and made about two round trips per day, totaling about eight miles. Connolly carpooled, and is looking forward to coming and going to and from campus on his own time.

The students agreed that they have missed being a part of the on-campus atmosphere.

"For the last five weeks I've missed out on walking to my friends' dorms," Connolly said.

"I couldn't go visit my friends during the week days because I didn't have time. Now I'll probably have time to visit my buddies," Le added.

They also noted that the Pacific Inn offers a more dorm-like atmosphere, as the entire second floor has been dedicated to the students.

"Another disadvantage of Mariani's is the way they set up the rooms - they were scattered all over the place," Connolly said. "Here there is more of a hallway, social atmosphere."

But through the housing difficulties this year, it appears that the Housing Department may have forgiving and adaptable students to thank for accepting their experiment.

"I would have rather lived in the Alamedas, and after they filled up, I wanted to be on campus," Connolly said. "But I really like having my own bathroom."

"Me, I don't expect anything. What happens, happens. All I do is adjust," Le said.

However, the two also noted that they feel they deserve the right to have first choice of any on-campus dorm they want next year, although such an arrangement has not been negotiated with the administration.

"We're expecting to be first on the list to get into Sobrato," Connelly said.