Student life prepares for relocation

COURTESY PHOTO

By MELISSA SANDOVAL

Staff Reporter

In the coming years, student life will be moving out of the basement of the College Union Building as a result of the 2019 bond project. Currently, college officials are considering moving the student life department to the building that now houses the Student Services Center, which may be moving to Russell Hall.

“Back when the architects were putting together the master plan last spring, our main request was to be moved out of the basement of the College Union Building,” said Amber Hamilton, director of student life.

“We know that wherever we end up, it won’t be for another few years,” said Hamilton. “So, I’m definitely not expecting to make this move anytime soon, but, when we do move, I believe space will be created that fits our need to host large indoor events for our students and give the college the ability to host college-wide events on the employee’s side,” she said.

Hamilton said it will be a flexible space for everyone to utilize and that student life hopes to have communal space for student organization gatherings, access to the latest technology, and new outdoor gathering spaces.

“It’s exciting to see a new possible space designed with the students in mind,” said Faviola Perez, a general studies major and SGA member. Perez also said that moving buildings will be a great change for the college and that it doesn’t make sense for student life to be located in a basement like it is currently and that it’s something that should be highly visible so more students can use it.

Other students say they like the current location. “Personally as a student, I’m not the biggest fan of this move,” said Tania Amaya, a nursing major, and SGA member. “Student life is known for being in The Burrow and as a student, you feel safe and not scared to go down there because the space is free, and not many people are down there.”

Amaya also said that the burrow is overall a fitting location for student life, but Hamilton disagreed. “I’m definitely excited about being more visible on campus. It’s hard to get students to come to the basement for any reason,” said Hamilton. “When they do find their way down here, it’s not somewhere they want to stay for extended amounts of time,” she said. “Being in a more central location will allow us to have better access to our students and vice versa.”

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.