EMMA SOROHAN
Staff Writer
Say goodbye to an outdated room with few uses and say hello to a newly modified, multi-purpose configuration. As 2014 commencement ceremonies take place, the college’s Social Science Lab and Women’s Resource Center will undergo construction. Currently, the room is a classroom and computer lab in addition to the Women’s Center, but soon the interior will be completely transformed.
Renovating the Social Science Lab and Women’s Resource Center is one of the biggest projects at VWC, so large that it has been in the works since 2012. However, the development office was notified in February 2013 that the Social Science room would receive a grant that would cover the approximately $750,000 project. Without the grant, this project would have wwbeen difficult to achieve.
“This is a fairly large project that has been in discussion since 2012, but we have really been working at it in the last 6 months or so,” said Vice President of Operations Bruce Vaughan.“We are shooting for mid-August for it to all be done, but there’s a lot of background work that goes on.”
As of now, the room properly serves the purpose of a classroom, but one of the main reasons that sparked discussion of revamping the place is because of the current configuration. If a class is going on in the Women’s Center, the computer lab cannot be accessed.
“The room is being renovated because it is not functional as it is currently configured; that is, only one function can be held at a time,” said director of the Women’s Resource Center Sharon L. Payne. “If a class is being held, the computer lab can’t be accessed without walking through the class. At the present time the lab can’t be used by the Women’s Center during any class times, which severely limits our access.”
The updates will allow faculty members and students to have a more accessible and functional space. There will be two new computer labs with separate entrances dividing the classroom and labs, allowing students to use computers regardless of a class being held. At one end there will be a 16-seat computer lab, and at the other end there will be a smaller research lab that will also have computers while the majority of the space will be occupied by a multi-purpose room that will be mostly used as a classroom.
Despite a few scheduling problems that may occur due to the renovations, the overall thought of the room being filled with two computer labs, a lounge area, a large classroom, a new air conditioning unit and a new heater is exciting to VWC students.
“I didn’t know about the renovations until this interview, but it is exciting to that it is going on because I live in Village II, so now it will be a nice area to study or do research when the library is crowded,” said freshmen Raven Dillard.
As with most projects, the blueprints might be slightly altered between now and mid-August, but a more modern room filled with all new appliances and electronics definitely has students excited for the coming changes.
“I love the idea of them renovating that room! It’s so big and there can be a lot to be done to it, so I’m actually pretty excited to see how VWC transforms the room,” said freshman John Byrd.
