It seems that the wonderment of the new Stevenson Hall on campus has faded just a few weeks into the spring semester. With cold, barren walls and bathrooms that have yet to be cleaned, it seems that Stevenson may have lost its comforting appeal.

The spring semester began on Jan. 23, marking the first time that Stevenson would be fully open to the public. The old building was riddled with asbestos so the construction of this new space was highly anticipated. This project took a total of eight years to be completed by Truebeck construction. The overall design was handled by an architecture firm, EHDD, based out of San Francisco. This may have contributed to the very modern and minimalist ‘Apple store-like’ layout we see today.

Bowen Palengat, a third year GEP major, has a bio lecture in one of the larger lecture halls. In an interview with the STAR Palengat said, “I feel like the new Stevenson aesthetic is really open and sparse, and the way it’s set up feels, kind of, like a mall just without all the people.”

The three story academic building has a much more open concept, with classrooms now located only around the perimeter. This new Stevenson has a mission to be more inclusive and has gender neutral bathrooms located on the first floor. An exciting new addition to campus for all to enjoy. Unfortunately, this semester, the bathrooms seem to have not been cleaned. You can walk in and see overfilled trash cans with paper towels littered across the floor. Why is this building, that cost the school $90 million to make, not being properly taken care of?

Lexi Schoonmaker, a third year women and gender studies major described the new building as “a warehouse meets medical facility.” She admits however that she prefers the updated building because of the new technology in each classroom.

The first floor is equipped with spaces for students to interact and study with one another, although the constant slamming of doors across the room may affect one’s concentration. It seems that there was no mechanism set in place to accommodate this noise. So if you are in class anywhere in the building, you definitely will be notified when another class has ended.

Sonoma State prides itself on the consistent move toward sustainability. SSU’s website states,“building a sustainable and resilient future is the global and ethical challenge of our time. To ensure our Seawolves are prepared to meet the challenge, Sonoma State infused these principles into everything we do.” The new Stevenson building fulfills this push to sustainability with its LEED gold sustainability standard. These buildings contribute to an overall lower carbon footprint. Overall it seems that Stevenson will continue to serve as a large selling point for incoming Seawolves, even though it falls short for those of us who are actually using it.