 "Photo: Kyle Pezoldt")
As a current student at East Stroudsburg University, what would you enjoy seeing change? Would you want additional dormitories? Would you want additional food courts? Would you leave everything how it is, avoiding effort and change? No one can hear you if you do not speak up. Today, more than ever, student input is crucial in planning an even more suitable college experience for future students. Before reading this article, try to imagine our campus without the recreational center, or the union, or the cafeteria. Now, pretend it is approximately the year 1993 and students are voting on whether or not a recreation center should be constructed. Because they voted YES on the student referendum, we have a very stable and frequently used recreation center.
On January 26, 2010 at 3:00 p.m. there was a Student Senate meeting held in the student senate chambers in the union. At the Student Senate meeting there was Fred Moses, ESU's Executive Director of Student Activities Association; Christine Langlois, ESU Project Manager; Bill Pierson, ESU Assistant Director Planning and Engineering Facilities Management; and Stuart Rothenberger, Director of Architecture & STV Architects.
This meeting was held primarily to open students to the idea of renovating campus and constructing a multipurpose facility. This multipurpose facility will be located in “the heart of campus,” or right near where the union is now. This multipurpose facility will have exactly what it reads: more than one purpose. Integrated into this building could be a new library, extended hospitality management classroom spaces, a new food center, more office space for clubs and a new technology center with more computers. The estimated dimensions of this building are 240, 000 square feet. For students like myself who had no idea what that would look like, it would be approximately two times the size of the Science and Technology building.
Remember, the construction of the SciTech building freed up space in Stroud. This idea of combining facilities into one large one would bring students together and allow for a lot more interaction and enjoyment in one place. The actual planning of this building would take at least a year and a half to design, and at least five years of construction, but a proper layout would be designed to fit the increasing size of our population. Over the five-year process, it would be ideal to have a “domino effect” which means having minimal disruptions during the school year and keep the construction for summer.
Overall, everything would be estimated to cost 90 million dollars. If a new library is integrated into this multipurpose facility, our Kemp Library could be renovated into more classroom space. If new food courts are integrated, that means the lines at the cafeteria could be reduced immensely.
Stuart Rothenberger declares, "The Project will set the bar high when it comes to Multi-functional Student Facilities and represents a major opportunity to solidify the heart of the 'campus community.' There is no doubt that the building and its functions will make a significant positive impact for the student body, faculty and staff of ESU for decades to come."
At this point in time, the multipurpose facility equation has one known variable: student involvement is needed. Absolutely nothing is certain, nothing is set in stone, and nothing will change without input. At the Student Senate meeting, students were able to voice their opinions on what they did not like on campus, and what would make it better. The group of students that voiced their opinion were all well-rounded individuals with different interests, different areas of concentration, and different ages. If you are a fan of Steve Jobs like myself, you would have agreed with the student who suggested a Mac friendly computer lab. If you enjoy music, comedy, and/or entertainment, which I am assuming a vast majority of you do, you would have agreed with the students who suggested an extra room for small performances and a small movie theater with 200-250 seats. Other suggestions were to expand the dance studio, have more office space for clubs, and something as simple as increasing the number of electrical outlets in the building.
What are your interests? What is your major? What would you like to be different, if anything? Although we will not see the changes being made on campus, we have the opportunity to become innovators, we have the power to change the future for future students. Who knows, these future students could even be our children.
Keep in mind the student referendum mentioned earlier which gave us the facilities we have now. Also keep in mind that students like us know better than anyone else what renovations would benefit our campus, school, and other students. Then, when October and November of 2010 approaches us, you should be actively involved in the referendum that will determine the outcome of the multipurpose facility.
There is another round of planning meetings scheduled for February 11th and 12th. John Robinson, director of the University Center and Student Activities, openly invites all students interested in participating and sharing their ideas. The meetings are scheduled as follows:
Thursday, February 11
Topic Area: Student Activities/Student Organization Spaces
Meeting Time: 8AM- 10 AM
Meeting Location: University Center Room 205
Topic Area: Bookstore/Convenience Store
Meeting Time: 10 AM- Noon
Meeting Location: Bookstore
Topic Area: Food Service
Meeting Time: 1 PM - 3 PM
Meeting Location: Dansbury Lobby
Topic Area: HRTM Department
Meeting Time: 3PM – 4 PM
Meeting Location: Rosenkrans Conference Room 123E
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