Construction projects saw completion over break

The construction that has enveloped our campus continued over the break and some projects actually saw light at the beginning of this semester. A few important ones:

Student Center

The ongoing renovation of the Student Center had recently seen the finishing of the first floor including the area under the stairs that houses Pizza Hut.

The new, more modern look seems to be appreciated by the student body. The major student complaint at the time was the temporary unavailability of the ATM machines.

Other minor changes like the movement of the courtesy phone have gone unnoticed by the student population. "I didn't even know there was a courtesy phone," said David Berta, a third-year Polymer and Fiber Engineering major. "I don't see why we need one, that's what our cell phones are for."

Larger additions like the 61-inch flat panel TV which is now mounted on the wall next to Pizza Hut were much more easily noticed as many students were crowded around watching it.

The completion of the first floor ties together with the modern look of the commons area next to it and with the plans to renovate all three floors of the student center.

Jazzman's Cafe

Jazzman's Cafe, located on the first floor of the library's east wing, welcomed students for the first time at the beginning of the semester.

The new dining option, open from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. daily, serves up Seattle's Best Coffee, pastries, smoothies and sandwiches to its patrons.

Students welcomed the addition of a food outlet in the library. "Well, it's not Starbucks," said Jenifer Vandagriff, a first-year Science, Technology and Culture major.

"It's nice to have in the library, but it has room for improvement. The coffee is pretty good, though," she said.

"This is my first visit...and I'll be back many times," said William Gruendler, a Facilities employee.

"The food is fresh [and] delicious," he said.

According to Michael Malone, a supervisor at the cafe, Jazzman's has seen most of its traffic in the mornings, though he believes night demand may pick up as the semester progresses.

Some students would like to see the hours continue even later, however.

"When you're studying at night it's a good idea to get some caffeine," said Saswat Anand, a graduate student in Computer Science.

Van Leer

The Van Leer building has been criticized about its lack of aesthetic appeal before, but is there any plans to update its look? The last round of improvements for the Van Leer building were more structural than aesthetic.

There used to be leaks that required the fourth floor to have buckets placed in the halls to collect the water coming through the roof.

"The leaks persisted for quite some time but they were repaired six months ago and there have been no leaks since," said Harry Beck, Director of Operations for the ECE.

Another problem that was a major concern for the ECE was the heating and cooling system.

"Because of the asbestos above the ceiling, our maintenance men had to stop going up to maintain the mix boxes which maintain the temperature," Beck said.

The ECE had to get trained specialist to go clear out all the asbestos around the mix boxes and then install a plastic shield to prevent any more from entering the area.

It was only after this that maintenance was able to be done on the mix boxes, accounting for the return to normal temperatures in the building.

As for more student-oriented improvements that are planned for the building, Beck said that another campaign for more money to update the building is a possibility for next year. "The last capital campaign was around the time of the Olympics," Beck said.

"The money would be used to totally renovate the Fish Bowl. The Ivan Allen workspace company is working on a design to totally renovate the study area."