After much anticipation from the campus community—especially from students—the Student Center is on its way toward becoming a reality.
With the Center for International Education and Public Safety soon to move out of their respective spaces in the Woods-Penniman Building, with CPO already in Printing Services, questions have been raised about what the new space will be used for.
Following their appeals to College administration, namely by the College’s own SGA, students will have a space of their own catered to their wants and needs, and that space will be in the Woods-Penniman Building, known by much of campus as “Woods-Penn.”
To accommodate students effectively, the student body will be asked about what they would like to see in the coming semesters so those responsible for the renovations necessary to carve out the Student Center are hearing from the students directly.
“You’re going to see a lot of opportunities for students to come and give their opinions on what they want and need in the Student Center,” said SGA president Lily Barnette, ’24.
The Alumni Building, despite already housing its own cultural centers like the Carter G. Woodson Center, the Black Cultural Center, and the Espacio Cultural Latinx, was also intended to be host to a general Student Center, but the need for offices and space for various departments forced the College to shelf the idea until now.
Of the two departments moving out of Woods-Penniman, the new locations for Public Safety and CPO have been decided. Public Safety will move to the IT Department’s space in Hutchins following their relocation to the CMIT Building. Where the Center for International Education will move to remains uncertain.
There is currently no date set for the completion of the Student Center, as renovations have not yet begun, and it is foreseen to take at least two years before the space is anywhere near completion.
In addition, it is unfortunately likely that current juniors and seniors will never see its completion before they graduate.
“[The Student Center] is going to be beyond the time of juniors and seniors…” Barnette explained. “But we’ll start to see renovations and things as we get more ideas on what students want.”
While there are few specifics thus far, much of the campus community is excited to see how the available space in Woods-Penniman will be renovated into a Student Center worthy of the College’s hardworking students.
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