New proposals for the residence life master plan have been tentatively presented, hinting at several improvements to the residence halls themselves, and providing the students that live in them with several new amenities and opportunities in the years to come.
In the last academic year, a committee was formed to hear these proposals, made up of students, faculty and members of the community. The committee met several times over the past summer, and expect a final copy of these proposals to be ready by the middle of October.
Although some smaller projects are just getting started within the residence halls, many of the tentative proposals will enhance the residence life experience for current and future students who choose to live on campus.
On Sept. 26, preparations for painting the outside of Whitley Hall began, first with a power washing of the entire building, before painting on the trim was started.
“One of the recommendations that is coming out of committee is that we look into a residential corridor to the campus, that would be Whitley at one end, and probably stopping around where New Pride is, ” Deborrah Hebert, assistant vice president and dean of student affairs said.
According to Hebert, a continuation of the walking mall throughout the residence life buildings is also being discussed, with the walkway connecting buildings from the Memorial Student Center, all the way to Whitley Hall.
“They recommended in terms of Whitley, that we might look into turning it into a real living learning center, and that we would convert most of the first floor space, put some offices in there … even a coffee shop.”
Other potential changes for Whitley Hall include lounges for each floor. Tentative plans for these floor lounges propose a separate area for students to do laundry, with a bigger socializing area connected to it. This area would include a kitchen and television area, with study sections and printing stations in the front. Study sections could include flat, sectioned off tables, and plug-in areas for laptops.
Also in the works for all residence halls is the removal of built in furniture, and replacing it with movable furniture and loft type beds, that would allow residents to put desks and belongings in the area beneath their beds.
“I don’t want to duplicate services that are already on campus, because I don’t want to create a situation where students don’t have to leave their room,” Hebert said. “I want them to be in the lab and mingling with other students and helping each other learn.”
Another proposal presented was new housing built for honors students, separating the upper and lower classmen. For Berry Hall, the thought is to try and move all traditional student housing to the main campus side of the highway, and move strictly family housing to the Wal-Mart side of it. Most likely, current residence halls on the Wal-Mart side will be torn down and new ones built, giving families the opportunity to live in two or three-bedroom housing. Townhouses for married students, veterans and graduate students may also be initiated in the years to come.
With family housing moved to this one area, there would be more green space provided for children to safely play in, and others to utilize.
“Where there is green space, it is much cooler and people are much friendlier than when they are walking on asphalt”
Although proposals for the master plan are in the very beginning stages, Hebert is excited about all the potential changes, and is working with the residence life staff to make them a reality.