Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Fasilitas kampus baru itu membuat mahasiswa merasa lebih tenang dan mudah konsentrasi. - The new campus facilities make students feel calmer and able to concentrate more easily.

fasilitas = facilities
kampus = campus
kampus baru = new campus
kampus baru itu = that new campus / the new campus (with itu as “that/the”)
fasilitas kampus baru itu = the facilities of that new campus

So the most precise reading is “the facilities of that new campus”, not “new facilities of the campus”.
If you wanted to emphasize that the facilities themselves are new (not necessarily the campus), you might say:

fasilitas baru di kampus itu = new facilities at that campus

What does itu do in fasilitas kampus baru itu? Is it like “that” or like “the”?

Itu is a demonstrative, basically “that”, but in Indonesian it also often works like a definite article (“the”) when you identify a specific thing already known in the context.

kampus baru = a new campus (in general)
kampus baru itu = that new campus / the new campus (we both know which one)

So fasilitas kampus baru itu = the facilities of that (specific) new campus.
Without itu, the phrase can sound more general:

Fasilitas kampus baru membuat …
→ Facilities of a new campus (some new campus, not clearly specified) make …

Could you also say fasilitas di kampus baru itu? Is there any difference from fasilitas kampus baru itu?

Yes, you can say:

fasilitas di kampus baru itu = the facilities at that new campus

Nuance:

fasilitas kampus baru itu sounds a bit more like “the facilities (belonging) to that new campus” – a tighter noun phrase.
fasilitas di kampus baru itu focuses slightly more on location: the facilities located at that new campus.

In everyday use, both are natural, and the difference is small. The original sentence is perfectly idiomatic.

Why is mahasiswa not marked as plural? How do we know it means “students” and not “a student”?

Indonesian usually does not mark plural on nouns; context does the job.

mahasiswa can mean “student” or “students” depending on context.
In this sentence, campus facilities affecting people in general naturally implies multiple students, so we interpret it as “students”.

If you want to explicitly show plurality, you can use:

para mahasiswa = the students (polite, often used in formal writing/speeches)
mahasiswa-mahasiswa = students (reduplication, but in modern usage this often sounds a bit heavy or overly explicit in many contexts)

The original sentence is very natural with mahasiswa alone.

Should it be para mahasiswa instead of just mahasiswa here?

You can say para mahasiswa, and it will sound correct and slightly more formal:

Fasilitas kampus baru itu membuat para mahasiswa merasa …

Differences:

mahasiswa (bare form) = neutral and very common in writing and speech.
para mahasiswa = a bit more formal, often used in official announcements, speeches, articles.

In this sentence, either is fine. Using para is optional, not required.

How does membuat mahasiswa merasa … work grammatically? Is this a special pattern?

Yes, this is a very common pattern:

membuat + [person] + [feel / become X]

membuat = to make / cause
mahasiswa = the person affected
merasa lebih tenang dan mudah konsentrasi = what they end up feeling

So literally:

Fasilitas kampus baru itu
“That new campus’s facilities”
membuat mahasiswa
“make (the) students”
merasa lebih tenang dan mudah konsentrasi
“feel calmer and (feel) it is easier to concentrate”

Other examples of the same pattern:

Berita itu membuat saya sedih.
That news made me sad.
Perubahan ini membuat mereka bingung.
This change makes them confused.

Could we just say Fasilitas kampus baru itu membuat mahasiswa lebih tenang without merasa? What changes?

Yes, you can say:

Fasilitas kampus baru itu membuat mahasiswa lebih tenang.

Differences in nuance:

With merasa:
membuat mahasiswa merasa lebih tenang
→ emphasizes their inner feeling (they feel calmer).
Without merasa:
membuat mahasiswa lebih tenang
→ emphasizes the state/result (the facilities make them be calmer).

Both are grammatical and natural. The original with merasa slightly highlights the subjective feeling of the students.

Why is lebih only before tenang and not repeated before mudah? Should it be lebih tenang dan lebih mudah konsentrasi?

In Indonesian, it’s common to use lebih once if it’s clearly understood to apply to both parts of a coordinated phrase.

lebih tenang dan mudah konsentrasi
is understood as
lebih tenang dan (lebih) mudah konsentrasi

You can say:

lebih tenang dan lebih mudah konsentrasi

This is also correct and can sound a bit more emphasized or explicit, similar to English:

“more relaxed and more able to concentrate easily”

So:

One lebih = natural, a bit more compact.
Repeated lebih = equally correct, slightly more emphatic.

Is mudah konsentrasi correct, or should it be mudah untuk berkonsentrasi?

All of these are possible and natural, with small differences:

mudah konsentrasi (original)
- Very common, especially in speech or semi-formal writing.
- Literally: “easy to concentrate”, with konsentrasi acting like a verb.
mudah untuk konsentrasi
- Also common and natural.
- The untuk (“to/for”) makes the structure more explicit, like English “easy to concentrate”.
mudah untuk berkonsentrasi
- Slightly more formal / explicit.
- berkonsentrasi is the fully marked verb “to concentrate”.
mudah berkonsentrasi
- Also fine and quite common, especially in written or more formal styles.

So mudah konsentrasi is fine Indonesian; it’s a concise, natural pattern: mudah + [verb-like word].

Is konsentrasi a noun or a verb here?

Indonesian often uses the same form as both noun and verb, depending on context.

As a noun:
Saya kehilangan konsentrasi.
I lost (my) concentration.
As a verb/verb-like:
Saya sulit konsentrasi.
I find it hard to concentrate.

In mudah konsentrasi, konsentrasi behaves like a bare verb, meaning “(to) concentrate”.
So the phrase means “easy to concentrate”.

Could I instead say lebih tenang dan lebih fokus? Is fokus natural here?

Yes, fokus is very natural:

… merasa lebih tenang dan lebih fokus.

Meaning: “feel calmer and more focused.”

Nuance:

mudah konsentrasi = it is easy for them to concentrate (the ease of concentrating).
lebih fokus = they are more focused (their mental state).

Both work well in this sentence, just with slightly different emphasis.

Why is the word order kampus baru, not baru kampus?

In Indonesian, adjectives usually come after the noun:

kampus baru = new campus
fasilitas modern = modern facilities
mahasiswa asing = foreign student(s)

So baru follows kampus.

Putting baru before the noun (baru kampus) is not standard and would sound ungrammatical in normal Indonesian.

Does baru in kampus baru itu always mean “brand new”? Could it also mean “recent” or “new to me”?

Baru basically means “new”, but like English, context matters.

kampus baru itu could mean:
- a newly built campus,
- a recently opened campus,
- or simply a campus that is new relative to some other campus being discussed.

If you need to be very specific, you might add extra words:

kampus yang baru dibangun itu = that campus that was just built
kampus yang baru dibuka itu = that newly opened campus

But in everyday usage, kampus baru itu is fine for “that new campus” in a general sense.

What is the formality level of this sentence? Would it be okay in an academic article?

The sentence is in standard, neutral Indonesian:

Vocabulary: fasilitas, kampus, mahasiswa, merasa, lebih, tenang, mudah, konsentrasi – all standard.
Grammar: formal enough for writing, but not stiff.

It would be perfectly acceptable in:

news articles,
reports,
academic writing (especially in the more descriptive sections),
formal and semi-formal contexts.

For a very formal academic style, someone might slightly expand phrases (e.g., lebih mudah berkonsentrasi), but the original is already appropriate and natural.