With the move from Jacobus to Alexander House drawing near, student organizations have been wondering what the new space will look like for them. Floor plans were presented at last week’s Student Government Association (SGA) Senate meeting by Dakota Van Deursen, Vice President of Student Interests. In addition, Dean Kenneth Nilsen has shown the plans to some student leaders. Recognized Student Organizations and students will now be able to anticipate what the student space in the Alexander House will contain.
Students will be able to enter the foyer of the building by the terrace, either by stair or by a ramp. The installation of an elevator will ensure ADA compliance.
When students walk into the foyer, they will see a full whiteboard/corkboard wall, where club event flyers will be posted.
Immediately by the entrance on the right, students will be greeted by Danielle Maxson, the Student Life Advisor. On the left side of the foyer will be the location of the new Diversity Educator’s office. A locked pantry, for staff, will also be located on the first floor.
The rest of the first floor will be student space. All the bathrooms in the house will be gender neutral. There will be a living room lounge, a multipurpose room, and a game room. The game room and the living room lounge will be a proxy for the Jacobus space. A new billiard table will be bought for the space to replace the old and worn out Jacobus pool tables. The lounge will contain a television and comfortable seating for students to relax and hang out.
The multipurpose room will be available for club events. However, there will be a priority list for the room; it won’t be based on a first come, first serve system. Student Life/Student Affairs conferences like LEADS or Orientation Training will get first priority. Second will be religious organizations for prayer space. Third will be all other organizations who will be able to reserve the room through Virtual EMS. The room will be set up with chairs that will be easily removable for events.
The basement will provide storage for all clubs that currently have storage space in Jacobus and will expand to include clubs that do not currently have storage space. Some of the logistics for the storage space are still being discussed. Dean Nilsen hopes that the door to the storage room will have swipe access and not a pin combination. The room will contain some kind of lockers for clubs to utilize. The sizes and how these lockers will look are still being discussed. This Saturday, the Subcommittee Heads will be asking for an approximate cubic footage requirement from their constituent organizations.
The second floor of the Alexander House will be the new location of the Student Life office. Student Life officials such as the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Sara Klein, Dean of Students Kenneth Nilsen, the new Director of Student Life, and the Title IX Coordinator will have offices. Christopher Shemanski, Associate Director of Student Life, and Malcolm McDaniels, Assistant Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life, will also find a new home there. Graduate students and the Financial Coordinator will also sit there for student leaders to be able to pick up the p-card and for any financial questions they might have.
A large conference room will also be located on the second floor. Before the entrance to the conference room will sit Jane Gilbarty, Senior Administrative Assistant, forming a type of reception area for the new Student Life office. The conference room will be mostly utilized by the Student Life team during business hours; however, student organizations are allowed to book it when available even after business hours.
The third floor will contain offices for WCPR, The Link, The Stute, the SGA, and the Honor Board. There are still some hallway closet spaces that need to be assigned. A small conference room will be available for students, located on the third floor.
Furniture has not been selected for the house.
All of the rooms in the building will be cleaned by UG2. This is a new perk for clubs that are transitioning office spaces from Jacobus to Alexander House.
Currently, Student Life administration is scheduled to move in early January. This move could potentially be set back due to the elevator installation. As for a student organization move, no official date has been announced, but the plan is to have it as close to the administration move as possible.
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