The New Southwest’s First Month at Pacific
Photo by University of the Pacific
Southwest Hall is finally open for students! Here is a word on how it’s been going so far
Since last summer, construction has been going on endlessly with one goal in mind: finish Southwest in time for Fall 2026 and create a space for students (and a few staff) to live in and form a community) It is hard to say whether that goal has been fully realized or not. Southwest was officially opened in a ribbon cutting ceremony just over a week before students officially started moving in for the Fall semester. Despite this opening, construction was still ongoing during the following weeks.
Living just across the street from Southwest gave me the ability to see the construction still happening outside as families were helping students move into the building. As I type this, there are still “Do Not Enter” signs and orange cones surrounding some areas of the lot next to Southwest. There is also still interior construction going on, as the courtyard was not finished in time for opening. I was able to take a brief walk through the building during the week of welcome and in many places it was apparent that this project was unfinished. The entrance to the courtyard was blocked off, there were tarps in certain areas, construction was almost certainly still in progress. Bathrooms were also unfinished; with some having missing mirrors and hygiene trash cans not being installed in women’s stalls. Alongside this the trash room wasn’t open, meaning students needed to take their trash out instead of using trash chutes.
I spoke briefly with a friend living in Southwest who informed me that they were still working on the interior while students moved in. Apparently, working backwards from the third to the first floor. The university also made it seem like this would be exclusively a second year dorm which would allow sophomores to build community with their classmates and have a space that isn’t considered a “freshman dorm.” However, this was not the case. First years are also dorming in Southwest, and while I do not believe this is an inherently bad thing, I can also understand the frustration from second year students who wanted a space for sophomores.
While the worries surrounding construction are apparent, it does feel nice to see Southwest restored to its former glory. During my freshman year on campus, Southwest was a beautiful but sadly abandoned part of the campus. It went unused and I felt sad seeing such a historic building go to waste. Originally built in 1924, Southwest was one of the ten oldest buildings on campus and stood the test of time for almost a hundred years. The university’s aim to keep Southwest’s facade the same is something I very much appreciate. The history of Pacific is one of my favorite things about this campus. So, to see that there is a clear intent to keep that history alive even as parts of the campus are rebuilt was reassuring.
There seems to have been a clear vision surrounding Southwest. A space for students and staff to grow community together; Southwest is to be a fresh example of how great Pacific can be while keeping the university’s history in mind. The worry comes in how soon this vision will be fully realized. With such large goals and only around a year to tear down and completely rebuild an entire dorm, it becomes easy to see why the building isn’t fully complete. An impressive amount has been done in Southwest in such a short amount of time. For many on campus, this still doesn’t mean that they did enough to be fully prepared for opening.
While I believe that Pacific’s goals with Southwest are largely positive ones, the rush to have students live in the building while it is still being finished is something that has become an inconvenience for many. Pacific should prioritize transparency to students, whether it be with Southwest or future projects. Students need to know what is going on in the places they are living. My hope is that the university can use Southwest as a lesson for an projects they may end up doing in the future.