When students settled in their Ziv and Ridgewood Quad dorms in August, they didn't expect to be neighbors of massive machinery and dusty disturbances. Construction of the new residence hall, which has yet to be named, began in early August and is projected to provide 220 students with single and double rooms next August.

"What's unique about the new housing," Director of Planning Design and Construction Pamela Gentile said, "is that it will be constructed using glass, lead-coated copper and brick for the exterior skin. Some floors will have beautiful views into Boston."

But, the anticipation of new housing hasn't eliminated the various problems that the construction has caused.

"I like to keep my window open, but I'm not able to do that in the morning because of the noise of the trucks backing up," Ziv resident Kenny Kremerman '04 said.

According to Director of Residence Life Maggie Balch, noise from machinery and construction dust entering some rooms have been students' main complaints.

In order to alleviate concerns, the Department of Residence Life offered air purifiers for those students who said that they were affected by the dust.

"They promised us some air filters, but we're still sort of waiting on those," Kremerman said.

Although approximately 20 air purifiers have been dispersed to students, 70 were ordered, and are expected to arrive this week.

Aside from the air purifiers, earplugs were supplied to accommodate students dealing with the clamorous construction.

Another dilemma is the construction's timetable.

"Balancing that need with the needs of current residents is difficult.workers have certain schedules that cannot be altered," Rob Andrews, associate director of Residence Life for Campus Living, said.

"It's a very, very difficult situation. Due to labor union contracts in this area, construction workers are required to work from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. We've requested that from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. that they not make excessive noise," sadi Ridgewood Quad Senator, Nalani Bajaj '04.

This particular request received much attention: Of the two town meetings regarding the construction, the second meeting succeeded in negotiating that heavy equipment should not be used before 8:30 a.m.

"During the first two months of school, (the construction) was really loud. But, for the most part, the noise has gone down," Ziv resident Lisa Leombruni '04 said.

But now, Leombruni said she ponders the possible consequences of the arrival of steel late this month for further construction applications. "I'm a little worried about that -- I don't know how that's going to be," she said.

Residence Life ensures that they're focusing on aiding the students.

"Our role is to advocate for students, that's what we do best -- that's what we're trained to do," Ziv and Ridgewood Quad Director Joshua Walehwa said.

"I commend the students . I think that for the most part, they understand that the building needs to be built," Balch said.

And, both sides seem to be working at finding a resolution in response to construction complaints.

Ziv resident Allison Brown '03 said that Residence Life "is trying, but there's only so much they can do. I mean, they can't stop the construction."

The past town meetings were not the only outlets for students to voice their thoughts.

"I have an e-mail address that students can contact -- I'll have students who want to vent, who want to make suggestions. For me it is positive because they're finding a constructive way to deal with it," Walehwa said.

Andrews said that Residence Life has found "itself in a conundrum - advocating for current residents versus advocating for future residents."

"The only unfortunate thing is . last year during housing selection, we should've been told that there was construction here," Leombruni said.

When asked if the actions taken to appease students were sufficient, Gentile responded, "Given the schedule, we've done everything we can do.