The University's student organizations will have a new home after the opening of the Student Activities Center on Thursday.
The center, located on the first floor of Newcomb Hall, replaces the Student Organizations Office. The former facility consisted of separate cubicles for 40 different student organizations, with each cubicle containing a computer and storage space. The new center provides collective resources for all of the 400 student organizations on Grounds.
"The old setup couldn't service everyone's needs," said Chris Husser, Student Council's technology coordinator for the student activities center. "There's only a certain amount of space in there ... the idea was to service everyone."
"We wanted room for all, not just 40," said Kelly Polk, Council vice president for organizations. "This is a resource that all groups can access."
The center is the result of approximately one year of coordinated efforts between Council, Newcomb Hall Operations and the Office of the Dean of Students, Husser said.
The center provides student organizations with access to computers, printers, copiers, a fax machine and a scanner. Contracted Independent Organizations will be able to store computer files on password-protected accounts. Other materials can be placed in storage lockers. Each student organization also will be able to receive mail free of charge.
The center also has two conference rooms and individual workstations. By Thursday, a lounge area will be completed with couches and a television.
A staff of 15 Newcomb Hall employees will run reception services for the center, such as answering telephone calls and reserving the conference rooms. A doctoral intern will be hired to advise student organizations in the various aspects of operation.
Anticipation runs high for the new center.
The center "provides a wealth of resources for CIOs, and the money saved will be returned to the students in the form of wonderful programming," Council President Micah Schwartz said.
"The best thing about this project was that we took something and made the most out of it," Husser said.
Husser calls the Student Activities Center "a phenomenal achievement."
"The collaborative effort between Newcomb Hall and Council speaks a lot for student self-government here at the University," he added.
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