Long Beach State's new La Playa dorm remains unfinished as students come to campus

The fall semester at California State University, Long Beach, has begun, but frustration is mounting as hundreds of students have yet to move into their dorm rooms this week. Derek Smart Jr., 18, is the last of seven kids to go to college. For his parents, the dorm move-in process has become a family tradition. But now it's on hold. "My wife is a little upset because she wasn't able to decorate, organize his room and design it," father Derek Smart said. "She was heartbroken." The Smarts made the trip down from Sacramento on Thursday and planned to move their child into the La Playa Hall dorms on Friday. The new facility has 424 beds, mostly for first-year students. After waiting through the weekend, they were told the dorms were not move-in ready. "This is not an ideal way to start a new school year," Long Beach State spokesperson Jeff Cook said. "Not an ideal way to start college." Cook said construction was supposed to finish this summer, but delays pushed back the opening date, forcing university staff to find emergency accommodations for nearly 340 incoming students. The Smarts ended up at the Holiday Inn. The university is providing shuttle service between the hotels and campu s so the students can participate in classes and campus activities. "We totally recognize how inconvenient this is that it didn't come together as we anticipated until the very last minute," Cook said. "We're working as hard as we can to open this facility." Students were also given extra meal swipes and bookstore credits. While they don't know the new move-in date, Smart Jr. was told the rooms here are reserved for them until Saturday. Unfortunately, his parents can't stay until La Playa opens up. They've decided to make another eight-hour drive down to finish the family tradition. "We are planning to come back Labor Day weekend to get him moved in and get that move-in experience with him," Smart said. Gợi ý thực hành: 1. Theo dõi thông báo từ cơ quan địa phương tại California. 2. Kiểm tra nguồn chính thức trước khi chia sẻ lại thông tin.