Over the summer, several maintenance projects were completed around campus, including renovations in East Quad and the installation of fitness areas with equipment throughout campus.

A substantially increased budget for deferred maintenance allowed for the renovations in East Quad to be completed this summer. According to a May 21 Justice article, the Board of Trustees approved a four-fold increase in the budget for deferred maintenance on campus at the end of the last academic year. In the approved budget, $10 million is to be allocated to these past-due construction and maintenance jobs each year for the next 10 years, up from $2.5 million.

Work in East Quad began in summer 2012, when the University remodeled the bathrooms, according to director of the Department of Community Living Jeremy Leiferman. This summer, according to Leiferman, the planned work was to remodel student bedrooms, in addition to the hallways and lounges. Such work included adding new carpet, window shades, furniture, lights and the completion of paint jobs. "A lot of the fixtures in East, like most of the furniture, [were] original to the building's construction in the [1960s], so that's getting on ... 50 years old now," said Leiferman in an interview with the Justice.

Free-standing wardrobes were also installed in East Quad after removing the built-in closets. According to Lieferman, due to the fact that the closets were built-in, sprinkler heads originally had to be placed in the closets in addition to a sprinkler head for each individual room. Those additional heads were removed this summer. "While the sprinkler system is important for safety in the event of a fire, it's also a potential risk to have sprinkler heads that could get knocked off when they're in a closet and someone is shoving stuff around, so it was also a good thing to be able to remove those," said Leiferman.

Leiferman said that despite the progress made this summer, he believes there are still some other issues that could be addressed in East Quad in the future. "I think the East project has been thought of as a multi-year project ... [N]ext summer, or future summers maybe down the line, I think we'll start to look at other things as well," he said.

Along with the renovations to East Quad, this summer, the University also installed new carpet, ceiling and lighting in the hallways of Shapiro Hall in Massell Quad. "I think we're always looking to see what we can do to make the residence halls better living spaces, and we will constantly do [all] work ... So there are minor things that happen every summer that I imagine will continue," Leiferman said.

Another issue that has previously been discussed is the steam heating system, which, according to Leiferman, causes clanking pipes. "It's not a Brandeis anomaly; it's just one of the things that comes along with the style of the heating system," Leiferman said. "To replace the heating system is a pretty significant project and requires lots of thought, and so not to discount the work that was done in East this summer, but it's pretty easy to put down a carpet and paint and get new furniture. Replacing the heating system is a little bit more significant of a project."

In addition to the renovations, two small fitness areas with equipment were added to Gordon Hall in North Quad in addition to a small fitness area in East Quad. "Some of the themes coming out of the strategic plan of the University were with wellness," Leiferman said. "Certainly adding fitness equipment to those will definitely hit that goal."

According to Leiferman, East Quad and other renovations received separate funding from the fitness area projects.