New additions aid atmosphere

As a quick glance at last year’s Princeton Review rankings indicate, it is apparent that many Techies feel that the atmosphere on campus is generally depressing. Tech was given three undesired spots in the 2005 Quality of Life category—number 15 in Campus is Tiny, Unsightly or Both, number 16 in Least Happy Students and number 15 in Dorms Like Dungeons.

However, there are signs of improvement. As recently as 2003, Tech ranked second in Least Happy Students. Although many feel that the rankings do not accurately reflect the opinions of the entire student body, moving down 14 spots in two years can be considered a solid accomplishment.

In the years before I entered Tech last fall, vast improvements were made in the area of student life; alumni who graduated in the years before these longed for many of the comforts that we now take for granted. And thanks to these improvements, it is now more difficult than ever for students to blame their unhappiness merely on the inadequacies of their surroundings.

Consider Tech Square for instance. The $179 million state-of-the-art complex opened Fall 2003. Not only does it house the quickly rising Dupree College of Management and other academic units, it contains the beloved eatery with which some of my fondest memories of freshman year are associated: Tin Drum. Also with Tech Square came the Trolleys, which make travel convenient as they run more frequently than Stingers. And before long there will be a park on the 5th Street bridge, one of several projects taken on by the Midtown Alliance.

Consider the Student Center Commons (SCC), opened in March of 2004. Without the SCC, the Student Center would be (and it was) embarrassingly small. Rich Steele, director of the Student Center, called the SCC “the social crossroads for the campus” in a Technique article published Aug. 20, 2004.

For students in classes entering during or after the fall of 2004, the SCC may not seem like an extraordinary luxury, but this is because we have never lived without it. We came to a Tech already graced by the magnificent Tech Square and indispensable SCC, somewhat ignorant to the fact that no such amenities existed a few years ago. In addition to the SCC, the Student Center Programs Council deserves recognition for bringing artists like Ludacris and this year’s Big Boi for the annual Sting Break festivities.

In addition to increasing recreational space, Tech has shown that it is taking steps in the right direction towards improving the appeal of its library and academic buildings.

The addition of Jazzman’s Cafe has supplied us with a greater variety of caffeine-containing beverages to aid us in our late night battles with calculus. When renovations on the library first floor are complete, we will have even more areas for group work and a movable theatre for presentations. In the past few years, the library has managed to hire a 24-hour staff and create the West Commons area as we know it today.

The new Whitaker Biomedical Engineering (BME) Building is another example of a stunning recent addition to campus. The building offers comforts which make long hours spent there actually somewhat pleasant. The IBB, Earth Science and Technology and Whitaker Building house some of the most innovative research on campus. As a BME major, I feel honored that Tech is putting forth so much effort towards making these facilities attractive. The soon-to-be-opened Klaus Advanced Computing Building is also very impressive, far more so than the current building on Atlantic Drive.

And when we grow tired of studying, we have the CRC. The center, 300,000 square feet of recreational heaven, opened Aug. 16, 2004. It replaced the 90,000 square foot SAC, adding a 35-foot climbing wall among other equipment. There are about 190 cardio and weight machines total in the CRC. Having been to the Tate Center at the UGA, I find the CRC at least as good, if not better, in terms of variety of recreational activities

“Our objective is to shape our outdoor spaces so that their calm beauty provides a counter-balance to the creative intensities in our labs and classrooms,” said Institute President Wayne Clough in his State of the Institute address.

This inspirational statement sums up the direction that the Institute is headed. Before long, maybe Tech will even end up on the positive end of the Princeton Review rankings.