Arlington Hall:
Views from home

Arlington Hall, the first residence hall built on campus in more than 35 years, opened in August at nearly 100 percent occupancy.

Three and a half years ago, Dan Williams approached President Robert E. Witt with the idea of building a residence hall on campus. Research had shown that prospective students— and their parents— wanted a traditional residence hall with a mandatory meal plan, said Williams, UTA's senior vice president for finance and administration.

"Evidently, many parents of younger students wanted to know that the money they provided for food would be used for food," he said. Plus, the newest residence hall at the time was Trinity Hall, constructed more than 30 years ago.

"Therefore, we decided that we should build a new residence hall, with a minimum of 600 beds, with a mandatory meal plan, and that we should cater to freshman and sophomore students," Williams said.

The decision, unmistakably, was the right one. Arlington Hall, named for the first residence hall on campus in 1902, opened in August at near 100 percent occupancy. Situated on the east side of campus, a stone's throw from the E.H. Hereford University Center, the 175,000-square-foot facility has pumped renewed vigor into the campus community.

A "positive energy," the Arlington Morning News called it. A "feeling of optimism," observed President Witt during the fall Administrative Council meeting. Residents agree.

"Being a student while living at Arlington Hall gives me a feeling of belonging to a university," said freshman Jeremy Hollinger, president of the Arlington Hall Council. "It gives me a feeling of living on campus instead of just around or near it."

The structure features amenities that would make many hotels envious: private rooms, master-style baths, free deluxe cable TV, high-speed Internet connections, a fitness center, computer lab, video arcade, billiard and game tables, and sand volleyball and basketball courts.

Hollinger summed up student sentiment in his remarks at the Arlington Hall dedication in November. "Home is where the heart is," he said, "and this is my home."

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