Students returned from spring break to find some of the traditional residence halls received renovations. Thayer, Ray and Martin halls had their temporary dorms in the common areas removed to open up space for students to use. Other halls are receiving improvements as well.
Pat Bristor, associate dean of students, said the Stover Campus Center renovations from the fall 2018 semester inspired the current hall renovations.
“After President [Douglas Lee] saw the changes that were made in Stover, he asked Rev. Tinnemeyer and I to lead up some renovations in the common areas in the residence halls,” Bristor said.
The temporary housing was built before the university built Pollock Hall. Waynesburg had a larger attendance of resident students coming in, and they did not have enough room for them. Now, the rooms are used for storage and are no longer needed for housing, Bristor said.
“The first thing I said was ‘we need to give this space back to the students. We’ll have to find another storage unit,’” Bristor said. “If we are going to renovate and make this a usable space for students first thing we need to do is take away this temporary housing and give it back to the students.”
With the demolitions complete, the university is planning what will fill the new spaces. Matt Pioch, director of housing, said “the ideas we have change based on different budgetary concerns that might be present,” so the items are not confirmed yet. A definite addition is the furniture.
“There were pieces of furniture here and there, and a lot did not match,” Bristor said. “Some was in good shape, some was in bad shape. Some was in very good shape. I wanted to gather from the resident directors’ photos of the furnishings in each of the buildings so that those that are in good or very good shape are going to be used. They are going to be put into a lounge area that match, and get rid of all the mismatch and broken [furniture].”
Other considered changes are new carpeting, paint and item movement. Pioch said the television in the Thayer Hall lounge will be moved to the common area. Some Thayer residents had inquiries on the fireplace that was revealed when the dorms were taken down.
“The fireplace will remain there, but will not be up for use,” Pioch said. “It will be more for an aesthetic gathering place.”
The television in the Denny Hall common area may be moved and the purple painted walls might be changed to a different color. The trim along the top of the hallways in Pollock may be changed to match all the trim through the building. Kitchens that are older than other hall kitchens may be updated. The Thayer, Martin and Ray renovations have priority over all other improvements due to budget size, Bristor said.
“I hope that students see the president and the administration recognize that there is a need to improve the common areas,” Bristor said. “Don’t get me wrong, I think they recognize there’s a need to improve other parts, but we do not have the money to do everything at one time. Making changes in common areas, I think, can affect everybody and hopefully [students] will see this change and things will continue down the road in updating things.”
The entire process will finish Aug. 1, a week before students begin to return to Waynesburg.
Because there’s less room for storage now, large item storage for students over summer break will be only available for students who live an extreme distance away, Bristor said.
“[Residence Life] is not a storage unit, and we shouldn’t be responsible for people’s belongings,” Bristor said. “We have a student from Hawaii, students from Arizona and California. That’s a different situation. We definitely should not be storing items for students who are within a six- to eight-hour radius.”
Pioch said Thayer residents “are excited about the new space.” Bristor, after talking with students, said they are “very positive and are looking forward to the change.”