The once-heated furniture issue at Wheatshocker Apartments has now fizzled out.

“I think we just feel tired of conflict,” said Esther Cao, Wheatshocker resident. “Nothing helps, and the furniture is here in every single room.”

This summer, many residents of Wheatshocker were opposed to the new policy that prevented them from bringing in soft or upholstered pieces of furniture like couches, futons and mattresses. Instead, the apartments would be furnished with the old furniture from Fairmount Towers, which received new furniture.

The change at Fairmount was exciting, said Katie Austin, assistant director for residence life at Wichita State. Moving of the furniture happened shortly before move-in to the residence halls.

“Moving the furniture was tough,” Austin said. “There was short-term pain, but with long-term gain.”

Part of the short-term pain was residents cancelling their contracts at Wheatshocker. According to Austin, most of the rooms that were vacated after the initial notice of the policy change have now been filled.

Not all residents are feeling the gain yet. Cao is still frustrated about the situation, but she and the other residents who were originally fighting against it have become less vocal.

“Everyone is like in default mode,” said Cao.

Housing and Residence Life hopes the residents will start seeing the benefits of the new furniture soon. One of the main goals of furnishing Wheatshocker was reducing the occurrence of bedbugs in the apartments. In the first few weeks of the semester, the bedbug count has already lessened.

“It’s gone down by 60 percent, which is huge,” Austin said.

Austin said that Housing and Residence Life has started monthly safety and health checks at the residence halls and found minimal issues. They are also working to teach the residents what they can do to prevent bedbugs from appearing in the apartments.

“I think the bedbug problem is a little better than before,” Cao said.

With the bedbug problem seemingly under control, Housing and Residence Life is looking toward the future.

“We want to maintain a high quality student experience,” Austin said. “We’re looking forward to a great year.”