Students will soon have more social space available, as two of the three remaining vacant floors in McClendon Tower will take shape this spring.
Director of Residential Life and Housing Services Eddie Hull said he expects floors two and three of the McClendon Tower, in the West-Edens Link, to be converted into nonalcoholic social space this semester. The second floor will become a multimedia center, with televisions and a projection system, while the third floor will be transformed into a game room, featuring pool, air hockey, foosball and card tables. The long-term use of the fifth floor has yet to be resolved.
Campus Council played an influential role in Hull's decision of how to fill two of the three vacant floors in McClendon Tower.
"At the beginning of the year we made a recommendation that floor two become a game room, sort of a billiard-room type atmosphere, floor three become a movie theater, and that the fifth floor become a sports-themed lounge/music hall type space," said Campus Council President Andrew Nurkin.
The recommendation, passed in October after several weeks of discussion, proposed that the fifth floor lounge serve beer, some alcoholic mixed drinks, nonalcoholic beverages and food.
Junior Clifford Davison, DSG's vice president for facilities and athletics, voiced his support for Campus Council's recommendations. "Facilities and Athletics committee has given its full endorsement of Campus Council's idea of having a pub put into one of the floors," he wrote in an e-mail. "What a great addition that would be now."
Still, students hoping for an on-campus bar to replace the Hideaway will have to wait for future planning to see if their dream will be fulfilled. Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta has said the addition of a bar will be considered as proposals for the new student village come to light.
"With the creation of a new student village and the movement of underage sophomores into the WEL, I now have doubts on whether [a bar] is the best development of that space," Davison added.
In the end, the ultimate decision on how the fifth floor will be utilized rests with Hull, who said that in the meantime the space will be available for a variety of purposes. "It's such a unique space that I want to take the time needed to think through its best use[s]," Hull wrote in an e-mail.
Currently, all three vacant floors are being used for a variety of activities and can be reserved through the Event Advising Center. Previous uses of the space included Campus Council's Casino Night and Sorority New Member Recruitment.
Many students who live in the WEL or Edens agreed it will be nice to have social spaces closer to their residences.
"I like Campus Council's ideas," sophomore Kunal Shah said. "It'd be nice for students in Edens and the WEL not to have to go all the way to the BC to catch a game or a movie."
Sophomore Rachel Hoffer agreed, and recommended that one floor be used as a computer cluster and another be turned into a bar. "Everything else is so far away, like [Armadillo Grill]," said Hoffer, who lives in Edens.
Sophomore Lily Kinross-Wright proposed that one floor become a dance floor that student groups could reserve. "I took a dance class last semester - there's nowhere to practice," said Kinross-Wright, adding that she would like to see the addition of a study room with comfortable furniture.
Hull said he envisions a tower that will be "a viable gathering place for students."
He clarified his expectations, saying, "The hope would always be that the tower would be seen and used by students as a destination; an alternative that provides casual opportunities to hang out with friends, catch a meal, have a cup of coffee, read a newspaper, watch some TV, attend a film series or interesting lecture, or play some board games."
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