Once construction is done on the Carl Hansen Student Center, approximately one year from now, the largest meeting room on campus will be on the newly added second floor of Alumni Hall. The trouble for student organizations will be the meantime, when meeting space in the student center will be cut to one room, SC227, after spring break.
Construction on the Student Center is scheduled to be done by January 2012, according to Associate Vice President for Facilities Administration Joseph Rubertone. He said the removal of hazardous material from Alumni Hall delayed the project by about four months.
“It’s changed the sequence of construction,” Rubertone said. “Things that you would have done first you’re now doing third, so that’s been the biggest difficulty.”
Such sequencing will likely affect student organizations. Student Center Director Daniel Brown plans to clear the organization offices on the Student Center’s second floor by spring break, but Rubertone said the plan is not yet set in stone.
Rubertone said the facilities department is working “hand in glove” with Brown to keep the project on schedule.
The new Greek and student media suites will be located on the first floor of the renovated Student Center, along with four meeting rooms, a large seating area named the Piazza and a fireplace. The largest meeting room, student organization workspace, and roughly 60 lockers for organizational storage will be on the second floor.
Phi Sigma Sigma President Heidi Hitchen has not yet seen the plans, but is excited for the new Greek suite.
“After seeing what the architects have done with the SGA suite and the Rotunda lounge, I expect to see the same kind of craftsmanship on the Greek suite and the rest of the Student Center offices,” she said.
According to the blueprints, the upstairs hallway of the Student Center will contain offices for Multicultural Advancement, work study, International Affairs, the Student Center staff, and the Student Programming Board. This portion of the construction is scheduled to be completed by this September.
Monica Torpey, a member of the QU Democrats, had mixed feelings about the lack of office space for student organizations in the Student Center plans.
“I think that it may be a hindrance to groups because they won’t have a space that is their own where they can focus, where the e-board can meet up and where members can easily sign up for activities,” she said. “But at the same time maybe having to share a workspace will cause the various groups at our school to become more unified, leading to more student participation and co-sponsoring of events.”
