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20B - The Michigan Daily - Weekend Maguipe - Thursday, April 15, 2004
GERMS PAVE THE WAY
FOR MARKLEY'S
'WORST' REPUTATION
By Lindsey Bieber
Daily Arts Writer
Imagine waking up to the sound
of your roommate puking one win-
ter morning. A rampant stomach flu
outbreak was just one factor that
made Mary Markley Residence Hall
the worst dorm to live in on campus
:this year.
The stomach flu, which spread to
other dormitories, started in
Markley in early February. By the
end of the week, 43 cases were
reported in Markley, making it feel
like the walls were crawling with
germs. Cafeteria procedures were
altered and hand sanitizer became
plentiful. Fourth-floor freshman res-
ident Sarah Stedman recalled, "I
was constantly peering around cor-
ners, keeping my eyes peeled for the
little monkey that caused the
Markley outbreak." Mary Markley
was far from the happiest place on
Earth.
Less than a month after the flu
outbreak, another annoyance struck
the Markley residents: construction.
The demolition of one of the public
health buildings next to Markley
started during Spring Break and is
not scheduled for completion until
February 2005. Waking up to cranes
at 7 a.m. is not a pleasant way to
start the day. Not to mention, the
daily trek to classes has changed.
Washington Heights has been shut
off to all traffic, including pedestri-
ans. Students must either walk
through the existing Public Health
Building to Observatory Street or
walk up East Medical Drive all the
way around the Markley building.
Fifth-floor freshman resident Mike
Cook complains, "It really sucks
waiting for someone to open the
door to the Public Health Building
after 6 o'clock p.m. in order to get
anywhere." As if the walk to the
Hill area wasn't far enough.
Unlike the flu or construction,
one factor of Markley that has not
changed is the room sizes. The stan-
dard double room where most fresh-
men live is 11 feet by 12 feet. It is
bad enough being in a strange place,
sometimes with a strange room-
mate, but compressing all the
M AG A ZIN E
ALI OLSEN/Daily
Continuing construction around Markley Residence Hail makes it an unpopular choice with students.
belongings of two people in a space
no larger than a normal bedroom
can be challenging.
The most obvious reason for bit-
ter hatred toward Markley is the dis-
tance between classes, shops and
college civilization from the dorm.
Especially during blizzards and
below-freezing temperatures, being
on the Hill, Markley residents are
hit hard. North Campus residents
have the bus to chauffeur them to
class and weekend activities and
Central Campus residents have a
brisk five-minute walk, but Markley
and other Hill residents have it the
worst with at least a 12 minute walk
to Central Campus.
When isolated, undersized living
spaces become bacteria-infested and
noisy, the result is the Mary
Markley dormitory of the 2003-
2004 year. Better luck next year,
Markley.
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