The Advance

Issue date: 9/22/06 Section: News

Media Credit: Michael Tate Construction crews continue to work on the construction of the new student center [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Tina Clark "I'm excited, but the process seems slow. I don't think it's going to get done in time." [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Tina Clark "I think the new Student Activities Center is going to be great. Especially because students are always looking for something to do. It will be a great addition to Kansas Wesleyan. Also, the new gymnasium sounds nice." [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Tina Clark "I only wish it would be done before I graduate!" [Click to enlarge]

As anyone who is standing at the flag mall in front of Pioneer Hall and is looking towards the gym can see, Kansas Wesleyan University is undergoing construction.
There is now a deep hole in the ground where the sand volleyball court once was, and there's a trench along the western wall of the athletics building. Crews are leveling the ground and putting in the foundations for the new student center which will be almost 140% larger than the current gym building.
The most important point to remember about the new student center is that it will be a central location for students to gather. This all-in-one spot will include the post office, bookstore, full-service snack bar, and student lounges on the mezzanine level, complete with a game room. The student center will be open later in the evening than the 10:00 p.m. time at which most of the campus buildings now close, and there will be two gyms. To add to this optimism, all intramural players can see that this is good news as they wish that more of the games could be closer to the dorms.
The projected final cost is now higher than last year's estimate. The damage caused in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has escalated material costs, and the amount raised is over $7 million so far, and contributions have come from many donors with the desire and the means to help Kansas Wesleyan with the building of its bright future. According to President Kerstetter, the new student center will be a place that students can gather away from the dorms or a place that a professor can meet with a student and just sit down and have a cup of coffee.
He hopes that all students, faculty, and staff will be patient with the inconveniences that the construction is causing, and he encourages that everyone on campus look past these inconveniences towards the long-term growth and progression of the university. The new student center's completion time is expected to be about 18 months, hopefully in time for the beginning of the Spring semester of 2008.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools