GC&SU to add new residence halls

The face of Georgia College & State University is changing once again with the construction of new campus housing.

Plans are underway for exciting new suite-style buildings that will provide more than storage space and privacy for students. The new housing features two bedrooms with one bathroom in between. No more running down the hallway with your toothbrush when you wake up late for class!

Students will also find movable furniture, laundry facilities and a new
student fitness center only a short walk away.

Construction is estimated to be complete in time for freshmen to occupy the new residence halls on campus in fall of 2003.

“Construction on the new buildings is going well so far. The new residence halls and the apartments out on West Campus are both going up pretty quickly,” said John Stone, associate director of University Housing. “We expect both projects to be completed as scheduled.”

The university housing capacity is expected to grow due to the construction of the buildings. The added residence hall space will also give rooms to students who may have otherwise been placed off campus in hotels.

“We expect capacity to rise from its current 1,037 students to around 1,500 students,” said Stone.

Beginning next fall, incoming GC&SU freshmen will be required to live on-campus. Although it is a new rule for GC&SU, many universities have practiced this policy across the state.

Robin Williams, a senior, has great memories of her time spent living in the residence hall.

“I met all of my friends by living on campus. We knew about all of the campus activities and events and could walk everywhere we needed to go. It was great because we never had to find a parking spot,” said Williams. “The best part about my experience on campus is that I am still friends with people from my hall.”

Dilanka Seimon, resident director of Terrell Hall, is very fond of his time spent living on campus at GC&SU.

“Being on campus gives you an opportunity to know what is going on and to have more of a feel for it. People go to GC&SU for more than just the classes. They go for the whole experience,” said Seimon. “Living on campus is very important. We have a very strong residential life program and feel that it is very important to make sure no one falls through the cracks. We want to keep track of the residents and make sure they have everything they need. This is another way we can further the liberal arts mission of the university.”

One major concern with students living on or off campus is their safety.
A special feature in the new residence halls will be a security panic button. This button will be a link between students in their rooms and officials in the public safety office. There will also be the standard 24-hour locked outside door of each residence hall.

“There are plans to have a security panic button in each room of the new campus housing. The plan is to directly connect students to the public safety office on campus,” said Richard Goodson, deputy director of Public Safety at GC&SU. “There are also plans to install additional emergency call boxes around the new parts of campus. Also, there is the prospect of getting cameras in the areas of the new residence halls, as well as across campus.”

Goodson is positive about the effect of the required freshman year on campus.

“The housing expansion is a good addition to the campus, because it will allow more students to live on campus and enjoy the full experience of a public liberal arts education. This expansion will obviously cause public safety officials more work, but we are being given the resources to handle the added workload. We have recently picked up four additional patrol officers with public safety,” he said.

The new housing will have several new luxuries not available in the older residence halls. A private bathroom, plenty of storage space, private temperature controls, group study rooms, computer labs are now luxuries in these dorms. Other features also found in the existing residence halls include internal laundry facilities and free phone, cable and internet jacks.

Any students interested in the new suite-style residence halls or the university apartments are encouraged to list their desired residence when applying for university housing. For more information on the new housing, check out http://www.gcsu.edu/student_affairs/res_life or call the University Housing office at 445-5160.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 20 2002. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry