Spring Break
At Last
Students flood into coveted - and much delayed - Union
Kyle Wrather
Issue date: 1/15/08 Section: News
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The opening of the Union was pushed back due to supply and construction delays, Colvard Student Union director Eddie Keith said. Only the students can decide if the delay was worth it, he said.
"We kind of felt like our staff and the students were like little kids realizing after Christmas that it's going to be a long time until Christmas rolls around again ... and this package was worth waiting for," Keith said.
The new building has met and exceeded many expectations of those who experience it, he said.
"I think it's everything we hoped it would be, and it's been fun for us to see people come in and jaws drop and eyes bug out," Keith said.
"That's the same reaction that we have. We literally have to pinch ourselves."
The interiors and exterior of the Union have been redesigned and rebuilt using only the frame of the original building. During the renovations students and faculty anxiously watched as truckloads of material were moved to and from the building and peeked curiously through the green fencing to steal a glimpse of the emerging structure.
When the Union first opened 44 years ago, it served about 6,800 students. Keith said the new union was designed with small meeting spaces and patios spread throughout the building, in contrast to the single large lobby of the older design.
"We wanted the Union to continue to be a place for students to just hang out informally, and we wanted that space to be warm and inviting but have a mixture of space," Keith said. "There are a lot of small lobby spaces and small quiet lounges."
Meeting rooms and spaces for student organizations were also created, one of many considerations put into the project, which was designed over a span of 12 years, said Bill Broyles assistant vice president for student affairs.
"We've got a facility that can accommodate large meetings or small ones, very high-scale or run-of-the-mill student gatherings," Broyles said. "With different sizes of rooms there's something for everybody."
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