Campus Center Opens Its Doors

WPI's Campus Center opens its doors for the first time on March 19. After years in development, the Campus Center will be completed and its services available to all.

The new food court will be in business and is the new location of Burger King. Several other amenities, such as an ATM, a wireless network, the new bookstore and several lounges and WPI will be taking the opportunity to treat its guests to a week-long grand opening celebration starting on March 26, one week after the Campus Center's unofficial opening.

The grand opening will feature an entire week of festivities and events honoring the new Campus Center and WPI. Throughout the grand opening celebration week, students will be able to visit the center and take part in various events and presentations. Jim McLaughlin, director of the Campus Center and Student Activities Office, explained that, "the grand opening will serve to highlight the various aspects of the new Campus Center."

The performances and events are sponsored by student groups on campus. According to McLaughlin, who has worked to prepare the celebration, the festivities and celebrations will go on day and night for the entire week of March 26, and "it will all culminate with the Friday ribbon cutting."

The first entertainment event of the week will take place on Monday, March 26 at noon, and it will feature the WPI Jazz Ensemble. The WPI Music Association will be sponsoring the event.

From 4 to 6 p.m. on Monday, there will also be a student leader reception, where all invited student leaders will gather for special tours, entertainment and a dedication ceremony.

At 8 p.m. on Monday, mentalist Craig Karges will be performing his art at the Odeum, the Campus Center's biggest performance space. Craig Karges is recognized by the National Association of Campus Activities as a premier entertainer, having received the "Campus Entertainer of the Year" award. Karges's performance in ESP is sponsored by the Order of Omega, the Inter-Fraternity Council and the Campus Center committee. Later on that night, after Karges' performance, the bookstore will be offering his book for sale. Craig Karges will be at the bookstore to sign any books purchased.

On Tuesday at noon, the Woodwind Ensemble will be performing for one hour in the lobby. The Music Association sponsors the performance.

At 8pm on Tuesday, SocComm will be hosting their Coffeehouse for the first time in the Campus Center. The featured performer for Tuesday's Coffeehouse will be the Megan Toohey Band.

On Wednesday at noon, Simple Harmonic Motion will be performing in the lobby. The performance is sponsored by the WPI Music Association.

At 8 p.m., the Legal and Social Issues Group will be hosting a debate with the Cambridge Union Society at the Odeum. The Cambridge Union Society is a premier debating society from Great Britain dating back from 1815. They will be stopping by WPI during their annual tour of the United States. Wednesday's debate topic will be "This House Believes That Britain Should Be The 51st State." There will be two sides in the debate, and each side will have 2 WPI students and 2 Cambridge Union members. The debates are generally considered to be humorous, and will adhere to Cambridge Union debate format.

Commenting on the debates, McLaughlin pointed out "The first campus centers began in Great Britain, and they were home to debating societies, so this event has some historical significance."

Following on Thursday, Interstate 8 will be performing in the lobby at noon. Immediately following the performance, at 1 p.m. the Juggling Club will do demonstrations on the lobby.

At 8 p.m. on Thursday, there will be a special program for the major donors to the Campus Center. The donors will be taken on a tour of the Campus Center, followed by a dinner reception on the third floor. Jim McLaughlin said, "When we think of our beautiful Campus Center, it's important to remember that many generous Alumni and corporate partners have played an important and significant role in donating to the project to make the dream of the Campus Center come true." Each room in the Campus Center will be named after a large contributor and on the third floor a "Corporate Partners" wall near the Odeum has been erected to recognize the donations of the various corporations.

On Friday, the final ribbon-cutting ceremony will begin at 10:45 a.m. At the ceremony, many key figures at the college will speak and then the ribbon will be cut. After the cutting of the ribbon, a building-wide "party" will begin. All students, faculty, staff, and alumni will be able to join in the festivities, where there will be free food and music on every level of the building.

The "party" will begin at 11:30 a.m. and will extend for several hours into the afternoon. During the festivities, there will be many attractions for students. The attractions include "Mug Shots," where students can have their pictures taken and placed on mugs. Also, there will be a caricaturist, a balloon clown, spin art Frisbees and custom snow globes. Through the duration of the party, the WPI Jazz Ensemble will be performing once again for the visitors.

At 8:30 p.m. on Friday night, Guerrilla Improv will be having a special feature performance, which will take place on the food court stage, allowing people to watch while they eat. The performance will last for an hour and a half, after which a Disc Jockey will come to the Food Court to play music and host a dance.

The last event of the Campus Center's Grand Opening celebration will be on Saturday night, at 8 p.m. The Black Student Union has organized a Hip-Hop Concert for the night. The featured performer will be Talib Kweli, and will be held at the Odeum. Admission for the performance will be $3 for WPI students, $5 for Consortium students, and $8 for the general audience. The performance will last for two and a half hours, and will be followed by an after-hours party at 10:30. There will be a DJ at the party, and it will go on until 12:30.

The extensive grand opening celebration will give people many opportunities to visit the Campus Center and be entertained throughout the week. Jim McLaughlin, who has overseen the organization of the week's events, predicts, "It will be an exciting week. Many people have worked very hard for what will be a fun-filled celebration, and we hope everyone - students, faculty, staff and alumni join us - because we really have great to celebrate."