Opening showcases new center

Music, prizes and fun were the norm at the grand opening of the West Campus Center last Tuesday at The Village at West Campus.

The festivities started with local band Orange Vanessa exuberantly performing in front of a buzzing audience. At points, the music was so loud that it could be heard hundreds of feet away in the apartment buildings.

Orange Vanessa consists of three members: Alex Barnes on drums, Bob Titolo playing guitar and vocals, and Rachel Kahn doing vocals as well. Both Titolo and Kahn currently go to GCSU and Barnes is a former student.

While not playing at grand openings, Orange Vanessa plays around the Alpharetta area.

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Barnes said he was impressed with the new building.

“It’s a real nice facility, I’m impressed,” he said. “The last time I was here it was just a piece of dirt.”

Following a few of their songs, Jen Maraziti, manager for Apartment Living at The Village welcomed everyone for coming out. She also introduced GCSU President Dorothy Leland, who also thanked everyone for coming.

The crowd was filled with students from both The Village and the residence halls and Leland addressed them.

“About a year and a half ago, you told us what you wanted: some community space and you didn’t want to drive on campus for something to eat.” Leland said.

Leland also thanked everyone who was involved in the project getting completed, including Student Affairs, University Housing, Sodexho, and Physical Plant operations. She expressed even more excitement for the building afterwards.

“I think it’s wonderful,” she said. “It helps create community space. It’s even nicer than I thought it would be.”

Dr. Leland credits that in part to the design of the building, which was changed from the original design. The most noticeable change is the corners and angles in the ceiling, which give the building an original look.

Following Leland, a few members of the Sassy Cats, GCSU’s popular dance team, performed one of their routines. Afterwards, Juan Pablo Favero, head coach of the women’s soccer team, introduced the team, who was in the audience, as they prepared to take on Georgia Southwestern later in the night.

The GCSU cheerleading squad then performed, hyping the crowd up with an impressive performance. Following that, Orange Vanessa got back on stage to continue their performance.

Other activities were going on at the grand opening as well. Sandella’s, the new restaurant in the West Campus Center, handed out free food. A drawing for prizes was also held. Prizes included various GCSU T-shirts, free Bobcat Card replacements and waivers for any parking tickets issued by GCSU. As some might guess, some prizes were selected sooner than others.

Many of the head executives from the school, such as Leland, came out to celebrate the new building, and all seemed to enjoy the festivities. Most could be seen chatting it up out on the pavilion, which overlooks the field between the apartments. Leland also said to be on the lookout for future events, as the school plans to hold more concerts and sporting events in and around the West Campus Center.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 17 2008. 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