Some families at the Northern View apartments remain frustrated with the ongoing construction at the complex.

Kara Strong, a junior communications disorders major, walks with her two-year-old son in the summer heat from the Convocation Center to her Northern View apartment.

Strong is one of many single mothers who commutes from the Convocation Center because of construction at the complex that has left residents with no other option.

“I have no choice but to walk in this extreme heat,” Strong said. “My child has to inhale all of the toxins and dust [from the construction].”

Once Strong arrives at her two-bedroom apartment, for which she pays $1,198 per month, she said she has to kill all of the insects that have infested her Northern View apartment.

“We have so many flies, mosquitoes and gnats everywhere,” Strong said.

Strong also said she is disappointed with the status quo of the Northern View Community. The single mother of a two-year-old boy, Chinwindo, Strong said she is unable to receive her mail and believes there is a lack of safety around the complex.

NIU has offered Northern View residents rooms in Grant North, but some residents, especially those with children, do not believe typical dorm life is a suitable option.

“What other choice do I have?” Strong said. “Dorms are not made for parents and I can’t live there.”

Kelly Wesener, executive director for housing and dining said she understands the problems that some residents may be having and is working to solve them.

“I know residents are frustrated, they have a right to be,” Wesener said. “We are working very hard to help them.”

Other families in the complex agree with Strong’s views.

Sharonda Garrison, a senior general studies major and single mother of three, said she feels NIU should help parents.

“Northern is not taking responsibility for this issue,” she said.

Strong, like other residents, feels her family should be reimbursed for some of the inconveniences that she has encountered while living in Northern View.

“We should be compensated for this,” Strong said.

Wesener said the building should be completed by the end of September, however, residents remain skeptical.

“I don’t believe that,” Strong said. “I feel like I have been ripped off,” Strong said.

Some residents of the large complex said they are disappointed because many of the amenities promised to them have not been completed.

“I was told there would be a computer lab and a child care center,” Garrison said. “That was why I moved here, and none of that is actually here.”