GSUB Gets Facelift
Will students see their new home before semester end?
By: Brittany Barr & Maxim Almenas
Issue date: 2/22/07 Section: News
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Three years ago student groups were surveyed in order to find out exactly how they wanted the new building to look. Ron Mompoint, project manager of the building, explained what he concluded from the surveys.
"The students wanted a 'wow' impact,"
said Mompoint. "They wanted a mall-like
environment and I think we achieved that."
Born of Haitian decent, Ron Mompoint grew up in Rahway, New Jersey where he attended high school. After two years of attending Kean University, Mompoint transferred to NJIT where he graduated. Mompoint has a background in mechanical engineering and is now working in the construction management field. His skills landed him the job here at NJCU.
The GSUB building is a three story structure. The design of the lobby and the rest of GSUB building is a nice urban design to reflect the community. The building is equipped with a number of multi-purpose and conference rooms. The conference rooms are primarily used for meetings, conferences, and other student related functions. One conference room in particular is known as the "Peanut Room" due to the peanut shape design on the ceiling. Multi-purpose rooms are on each floor of the building. These rooms are available to students for activities such as open mic, parties, recitals, comedy shows, talent shows and whatever else the students may want. Appointments will more than likely have to be made for use of the rooms.
The building also includes a game room, wireless cyber cafe, vending machines, and a student art gallery. Only student art will be exhibited in the gallery. There are also student lounges where students can kick back and relax.
Almost every door in the GSUB building
will have to be accessed by photo ID. If in an event a door sensor or card access deactivates, maintenance crews and building managers will be available for support. Intercoms, security boxes, and a video surveillance system will be monitored for public safety. If a Gothic Card is lost or stolen and someone else attempts to use it, Safety if the card owner does not match
the video.With the new building in place,
there will be a lot of relocating on the NJCU campus.
"We need to push students' understanding
of the planning," said Mr. Ron Mompoint.
"It's their [the students'] building! Their money!"
In the lobby of the GSUB building there will be a University Service Center. The Center is under the leadership of the VP of Administration and Finance, Walter Brady and VP of Student Affairs, John Melendez. It will be a one-stop-shop for handling all campus activities. O.A.S.I.S., Room 101 in the Frank J. Gaurini Library, will be relocated to the Service Center of the GSUB building. The University Service Center will take care of university photo ID cards, parking information and registration, shuttle information, and vending machine refunds. Financial Aid, Bursar, and Registrar will also be available at the Service Center. The counter top of the service center is rather high and may be a problem for students who are not very tall. The purpose of a high counter top is to protect the money that will be handled behind the counter top. There is a separate window however that will be accessible to those students who are smaller in size.
Associate Dean of Student Development, Wonda Shipman, was very active in the development and visuals of the GSUB building.
"The building will give students a place to socialize and a place for student activities which has been missing since the old GSUB closed for renovations. Students will have more access to the "body" that represents them [the Student Government Organization]. So if there are concerns, they [students] can stop by. It's a lot easier than going down to the BDI," explains Ms. Shipman.
Additional spaces have been created for student activities. Students also have access to the Dean's office. They can park their car in the garage, come up the elevator and they're inside the GSUB. They can rent tables to sell things. Entrepreneur and banking institutions can offer services. Students can even setup baking sales for clubs and organizations to increase revenue.
"It's a home where students can be themselves and hang out. It's the "living room" of the campus." She also spoke about the differences between the new GSUB building and the old one.
"The difference is vast. It is more modern and up-dated. As some of my students said 'it's hot'. The first thing you notice is a clear, open and welcoming lobby area. The colors are vibrant and exciting. The main offices (i.e., Dean of Students, Campus Life) are more accessible. There will be more continuity. We [the Office of Campus Life] will be more visible to students for our services and they will also have easier access to tickets for events. A lot of students don't like coming down to the BDI building. They say it's like a noman's land."
Shipman also explained that the hours that the GSUB building will stay open are still to be determined. It will at least stay open as long as the Student Union Cafe is open.
[The Cafe hours are as follows: 8am-11pm Mondays-Thursdays, 8am-6:30pm Fridays & Saturdays and 10am-10pm Sundays.]
There has been a lot of speculation on why the building has taken so long to open.
Mompoint addressed the delay as the following.
"We had to bring a new electrical feed into the whole building," said Mompoint. "We [union workers] were digging a hole towards Culver Avenue, and that was not part of the plan. We [project staff] thought that there was a pipe that we could feed all of our electrical cables to. We had to rip it all apart and put new cabling in because the old pipe overtime was bent out of shape and we couldn't pull. Non-controllable conditions drive renovations all the time."
Not only did the electricity cause the delay, but it seems as if the union workers who were hired to construct the building, also contributed to the buildings holdup. There was an email sent to the Gothic Times Website from a student that complained about the union workers taking extremely long breaks. Mompoint had this to say about the Union.
"Qualitatively, I would say yes. Qualitatively. The union works within a given concept. This is America and unions are good. They have standard operating procedures which they have to function by. They have time to take their breaks and nobody can push them to work more than they're supposed to. So, they [union workers] work within their conditions and as a result, what we [the project staff] want verses what can be done, sometimes, are not aligned. They can only work until three o'clock, and that's it - they go home. So, the perception that many people have is that those guys are not working but they are. And when they do work, they work as hard as anybody else. And this is a union building, and I think they have done a superb job."
There were many people who were responsible for the development of the Gilligan Student Union Building. Dr. Arlene Graham really pushed for the GSUB project along with Wonda Shipman, from the Dept. Of Campus Life. Howard Buxbaum, VP of Administration and Finance, responded financially, and Dr. Carlos Hernandez was the visionary.
Horrace Walker, the designer of the new GSUB building, is a member of the RBA architectural and design company. The company was awarded The 2006 Merit Construction Award of Excellence for Commercial Projects from the Associated Builders and Contractors.
Craig Morrison, a member of the Student Government Organization and Vice President of Student Activities, spoke about how the development of the new building will impact the students.
"I think the GSUB Building will impact
students greatly. The fact that all the major important contacts, such as student government, O.A.S.E.S., Office of Campus Life, Office of the Dean of Students, and the counseling center are either off campus or located in different buildings on campus, makes it harder for students to get involved and know what activities are occurring on campus. This newly renovated student center is the first step to improve student-confusion on where to go to get services that they need. My executive board and I are seriously working with administration to better improve communication with students on campus, and we believe that this building will bring everyone closer in communication to help better our relationship with all students."
Future projects include the re-development of the West Side campus of NJCU, which will include additional dorms, classrooms and shops.
So when are the students going to be allowed into the new GSUB building you ask? Ms. Wonda Shipman explained the notification process.
"Student government and clubs will find
out through an SGO meeting and notification will be posted on the SGO website. There will also be postings, emails, and "word of mouth". The official notices will come from the Dean's office as well as Vice President of Administration & Finance and Vice President of Student Affairs."
The new GSUB building is definitely a step towards a brighter future for NJCU. Students, who have worked so hard over the years to make NJCU what it is today, are finally being compensated with a brand new state of the art building that is totally student-driven.
"I refer to this building as the center of the Universe," said Craig Morrison. "Because this is the place that will serve students the best."
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