Residence pool opens for students

   The pool near the dorms opened to students Saturday.

   Built for student recreational use, the pool will be open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily and will be consistently heated. The area includes lounge chairs, a fire pit, sand and grass areas, restrooms and a special entrance for disabled students.

   Kaitlyn Patterson, a sophomore business major, said she has been looking forward to the pool since Chapman announced construction last spring.

   "It looks cool, but it's bad timing," Patterson said. "I thought it was going to open at the beginning of the semester. I hope it's open during interterm because I would definitely use it then because it warms up during January, and I have a lot more free time."

   It is undetermined whether the pool will be available during interterm, Kris Olsen, vice president of Campus Planning and Operations, wrote in an email.

   The final cost of construction totaled $1.1 million and was funded by Chapman's capital budget. The pool was originally budgeted to cost $750,000, but cost more because of expanded pool space.

   "We added the additional parcel to the north which expanded the pool area by a third," Olsen wrote. "To integrate the additional land increased the total cost of the project."

   Megan Hyland, a sophomore business major, lives in the Harris Apartments and said she is confused about why the pool is opening in December.

   "I'm probably not going to use it because it's cold outside," Hyland said. "It's winter and break is coming up so I won't even be here. I definitely wish they had a hot tub. That would be useful."