By Jamie Buzek
UHCLIDIAN STAFF

University Forest Apartments, UH-Clear Lake's housing unit, is in the process of undergoing a facelift.

"We are freshening up the paint in the parking lot," said Randi Weintraub, managing director of UFA. "We are repainting and freshening the look of the club house, and restrapping and repainting the pool deck furniture for the spring/summer of 2003."

The renovations, being completed by UFA maintenance staff, are taking place to keep the apartment complex looking fresh and more attractive. The upgrade will not affect rent prices.

UFA is also adding Internet access for its student residents. Currently, the students depend on the computer labs on campus for research and e-mail.

This part of the project will take place in the near future; test date may begin as early as mid-January. UH-Clear Lake Director of Technical Services Jerry Jones said that UH-Clear Lake is waiting on parts to arrive.

"Then we have to set up a test bed and try the Ethernet out at the school first to make sure everything works properly," Jones said. "This is a pilot program," said David Rachita, director of student services and UH-Clear Lake residence life coordinator.

UH-Clear Lake has to purchase connection boxes to be placed in the rooms where the Internet connection will take place. These come in groups of 24, so Internet access will be initially installed in the UFA apartment office, clubhouse and 22 UH-Clear Lake resident's apartments. If the program works well, the Internet will eventually be added to all apartments.

To live in the apartments, you must be a student at a college or university. Eighty percent of UFA's residents are from UH-Clear Lake. The other 20 percent attend schools in the area, like ITT Tech, San Jacinto Colleges and MTI.

"I think this is a great idea. It is easier, as a student, to have Internet access in the apartment, and it's nice for them to help us out as long as rent doesn't go up," said Rebecca Smith, ITT Tech student and UFA resident. "This will eventually be a great help for classes."

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