The weeping cherry trees and waist-high shrubs peppered throughout West Halls' quad have been removed -- and the vast change is causing some controversy among West Halls residents.

Penn State's Office of Physical Plant (OPP) had all vegetation in the quad, which sits behind Waring Commons, cut down to make way for a radical redesign of the quad, OPP spokesman Paul Ruskin said.

"Basically, what people are seeing is the initial stages of the implementation of a new landscape design ... for West Halls," Ruskin said.

Though news of the redesign was generally welcomed by West Halls residents, several students expressed confusion and slight anger at the total removal of vegetation from the quad.

Sara Schlumpf (freshman-elementary education) was among those residents who were caught completely off-guard by OPP's redesign project.

"There was no warning, no explanation at all," she said.

Lisa Depender (sophomore-English) said the sounds of chainsaws and workers early in the morning tipped her off that extensive work was being done to the area.

"I liked the [old] greenway," she said.

Thompson Hall resident Natalie Ricchuito's (sophomore-advertising/public relations) initial reaction to the removal was to compare the quad's aesthetic value to its cross-campus sibling.

"It looks ugly now," she said. "It looks like East [Halls] with nicer buildings."

Undergraduate Student Government West Halls Sen. Kristen Kofmehl said the lack of notification from OPP or the university created the mixed emotions from West Halls residents.

"As the student body, we were uninformed ... That's why a lot of people got freaked out when they saw the quad," she said.

News of the quad's planned overhaul eased some students' fears.

"A lot of people will be happy to know that the quad will be replanted," Kofmehl said. "I think people's concerns will be abated."

The renovation plans call for the planting of about 200 new plants and the installation of new bench seating, Ruskin said.

The project, he added, began in mid-September and will continue deep into the fall season.

"This upcoming week, OPP will be pouring concrete for the seating, and the following week we will start with the new planting," he said.

He added that officials hope everything is planted and in place before the cold winter months arrive.

Ruskin said the quick plant removal was an unfortunate step that needed to be taken by planners.

"The necessary evil in putting in new stuff is the need to get rid of the old," he said. "We intend to keep our campus as green as possible. We occasionally lose a green space, but we generally replace it somewhere else."

Ruskin said OPP and the university showed no preference in deciding to renovate the West Halls quad, which is considered by many to be the top housing area on campus.

"It had to do with the aging plant material bumping that area [West] up in priority," he said, adding that there are future plans for the renovation of other housing areas, such as East Halls and Pollock Halls.

Ruskin assured students they would be very satisfied with the final product.

"It's going to be great," he said.