Campus Center Special

Campus Center FAQ

These questions are among the most frequently asked concerning the new Campus Center. Janet Richardson, Dean of Student Life, provided the information for the answers.

Q. When exactly will the Campus Center open? We have heard several different dates.

A. The opening date for the Campus Center is not yet definite. However, we are aiming for as early as possible in D term. As soon as we get the Certificate of Occupancy we will start to move in.

Q. What facilities will there be in the Campus Center?

A. The facilities will include lounges, study areas, various dining options; a game room with pool tables, foosball tables, dartboards, and multiple TV's. There will also be also be meeting places, and a multi-purpose hall, which is as big as Alden Hall including the stage. The area will be available for performances by comedians, national bands, meetings, or even conferences for honor or professional societies, etc.

Q. Will it be open 24 hours a day?

A. We do not plan to have it open 24 hours a day for security reasons; but it all will depend on the traffic at the Campus Center. Before the hours are decided, we will study the needs of the campus. However, student organizations will have 24-hour access to their space.

Q. What will happen to the floor areas in Daniels and Morgan Halls, and the basement of Riley Hall?

A. We do not know what will happen to those areas yet, but John Miller, the director of Plant Services, is in charge of the Space Committee, which will decide on the future use of those areas.

Q. What will happen to the mailroom?

A. New mailboxes have already been installed in the Campus Center. Every student will have the same mailbox number in the Campus Center, however the combinations will be new. Students will be notified of the final date to pick up mail at the old mailboxes in advance.

Q. Will there be payphones/free call boxes/ATM's?

A. All of those will be installed in the Campus Center, as well as touch-screen information kiosks. Those kiosks will provide building layouts, events over campus, and a wayfinder service for visitors.

Q. Which organizations will have new offices at the Campus Center?

A. SocComm, SGA, GSO, ISC, IFC & Panhell, Community Services, WWPI, Lens & Lights, Tech News and Peddler will all have offices. Other organizations will have lockers for storing files and other materials. Student organizations will also share a common area on the third floor, where there will be photocopiers, fax machines, computers, printers, and coffee machines. Also, rooms in the Campus Center will be open for student organizations to conduct their meetings.

Q. Will there be job opportunities available for students?

A. There will be quite a few job openings for students. Positions for students include building managers, weekend and nighttime supervisors, and information desk receptionists. They will be paid either in federal work-study money or institutional money for students who are ineligible for federal payment.

Q. Why is there a new Mexican place at the Grille two months before it closes?

A. Because of its various equipments and machines, Burger King had to move before the other eateries. After Burger King had left the Grille, the managers at Chartwells decided not to leave that area empty, and therefore the space was filled with the Mexpress. Right now, it is in its testing phase. If Mexpress is popular enough, it may be moved to Founders Hall after the Grille closes.

Q. Is there anything else the readers of Tech News should know about the Campus Center?

A. Yes. The most important thing for the current WPI students to know is that, what is in the Campus Center does respond to what the community wants. Since the beginning of the project, we have tried to come up with the idea of a "shared vision." In order to work on that "shared vision," we have been actively working with over 40 focus groups during the planning process: Newspeak, "wedge rats", SGA, WWPI, even alumni, faculty, etc. We have found out that a lot of those ideas have overlapped, and in general the community wants the Campus Center to be a living room for WPI.