Take it back to August, move in day and the excitement is unreal. Woodcrest Hall was the place that was going to be home for the next eight months. Little did they know that halfway through the year a tragedy would change that forever.
It has been almost two weeks since Woodcrest Hall was no longer a home to freshmen, and the doors closed until next fall.
Where did the freshmen go?
Any place on campus that had enough room.
Although freshmen were not the only ones affected, Residence Assistants living in Woodcrest Hall had to be moved elsewhere and upperclassmen living in singles were greeted with new roommates.
Kyle Gormley, sophomore business administration major, said, “At first this was not fair, I had a single, but now that my new roommate has been here for a week I do not mind it.”
Students all over campus are affected, getting used to living with new people and staying in places that they only used to pass by.
Nick McLaughlin, freshman business administration major, said, “It is bitter sweet. It is nice and I have a lot of friends in house two, but Woodcrest was where my roots were from.”
Friendships were not the only things that were destroyed, but so were people’s personal belongings. Students lost printers, microwaves, refrigerators and other necessities.
Briana Wormley, a freshman psychology major, said, “It was upsetting because I lost all of my personal items, but I had to do all of the documentations to get everything back.”
A sense of community was lost as people moved their stuff out. It was a goodbye too soon and unexpected. Roommates are still roommates but that does not mean that they would stay together through the move.
“I think it is unfortunate for everyone because we had to move our stuff,” Rachel Gill, a freshman education major, said. “We lost a sense of community, and I was afraid I was going to lose my roommate.”
Moving out of the Woodcrest Hall was not the only problem, but the real question was who was going to cover the damages. It all came down to a waiver signed at the beginning of the year stating, Cabrini was not at fault for any damages. So what now? How does all of the stuff that was lost get replaced?
“I think it was really sad that our own insurance company had to cover everything.” Jordan Furman, a freshman bio major, said. “I also think it is really unfair that the kid who did it did not have to pay for it.”
Although living situations were not how students expected their freshmen year to go, some turned out for the best. Some students ended up not minding the people they were placed with. The day when Woodcrest Hall’s doors are to open again is still unknown.
