[FONT=Verdana]The previously uncertain fates of two Deseret Towers were determined this week. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]A news release issued by BYU states the school "plans to raze two of the buildings in the Deseret Towers housing complex on campus." [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]The buildings to be closed and eventually leveled are V-Hall and W-Hall. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]One of the reasons for closing the dormitories is a change in student lifestyles. The buildings aren't equipped to handle the needs of today's students, according to Brian Evans, administrative vice president and chief financial officer of BYU, in a press release. An increase in electronic devices used by residents, as well as other factors, has caused a steady rise in building maintenance costs. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Recent residents of Deseret Towers feel this is a long overdue step for the dormitories. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]"Everything is falling to pieces," said Sarah Battershell, a recent U-Hall resident. Her complaints, along with those from students, range from water pressure in the showers to bathroom capacities to the thickness of the walls. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]These concerns stand in stark contrast to experiences had by many of Deseret Towers' earlier tenants. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]"The facilities were very nice," said Georgia Sander, a 1971 resident of R-Hall. "I couldn't have asked for anything nicer" [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Sander moved to Heritage Halls after her first semester in Deseret Towers, but simply for a more "family feel" and not for better living conditions. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]"The reason for those two [ V-Hall and W-Hall being demolished] is because they are separated by a parking lot, which makes a natural boundary," said university spokesperson Carri Jenkins. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Both buildings currently house summer camp and conference participants, but will be left unoccupied at the beginning of the Fall semester. The rest of the buildings will be vacated in the two years following. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Closing two students