How do I navigate the UCC?

Claire:

The new UCC is a huge campus space that most students haven’t gotten a chance to explore yet. Once you spend some time in the different spaces it will get easier to navigate throughout the semester and figure out which spaces are useful. 

The layouts of the buildings are pretty simple as there are two towers that make up the complex: Harries Residential Tower and South Tower. On the first floor of Harries is the new Cannon Café. The second floor of the tower is currently under construction but will soon house the Office of Residential Education (ResEd). The first floor of the South Tower is comprised of the UCC Marketplace where you can order food from a variety of stations. Across from the dining area on the first floor is The Gallery, where SITTV hosts movie nights. One floor down, on the ground floor of South Tower, is the TechFlex Auditorium where large campus events may be held. There is also a new gym, called the UCC Fitness Center, with increased capacity and new equipment. For students looking to unwind, you can also find a game room on the ground floor. On the second floor of the South Tower are many offices and campus spaces for students. The first space you enter when you get to the second floor is a large student lounge adjacent to the Intercultural Space. On this floor, you can also find club meeting spaces, the Office for Diversity and Inclusion, and much more. 

But if you take away anything from this, remember that if you ever need help, don’t be afraid to ask. There are plenty of students and faculty willing to point you in the right direction. 

Ethan:

You simply do not, with no access to the stairs in the residential towers and the elevators taking hours to arrive, navigating the UCC is a challenge even the greatest explorers would struggle with. If you are a resident of the UCC Towers, you will be able to explore the 3rd and 4th floor bridge connecting the two towers which includes space to hang out with friends, study rooms, a ping pong table, and a bunch of TVs. However, if you are not a resident you won’t be able to access any of it. Instead, you could go to the student center located on the second floor of the South Tower or the game room and gym on the ground floor of the same building. Another place that you can go as a non-residential student is the UCC Marketplace, housing many different food options that will all manage to make you wait an hour for your meal. I would compare the difficulty of navigating the UCC as a non-residential student to that of putting a man on the moon, but we can only have such high expectations for the first few weeks of the new buildings being open. Hopefully in the coming weeks and months Residential and Dining Services will make improvements to make the process of navigating the UCC simpler and more efficient. But until then, I look forward to looking down on you from my ivory tower located on the 3rd floor bridge.