By Andrea Perkins,
Contributor

CONSTRUCTION AT SHU

Over the past year, Seton Hill University (SHU) has been expanding and adding more buildings to its campus. Last year, work began on Farrell Hall, which was completed in August 2004.

Last spring, work also began on the new recreational center adjacent to Sullivan Hall. The new recreational center’s official date for completion is February 1, 2005.
There are doubts from students as to whether the recreation center will be finished by that date.

Freshman Aundre Gandy said, “I think it will be open and certain amenities will be available, but I don’t think it will be completely finished.”

According to SHU President Joanne Boyle, the recreational center will be a place where “we want to see a lot of activity from everyone on campus.”

The plan is to refurbish Sullivan into a student center, and by 2005 or 2006 to begin renovations. Boyle said that the bookstore is going to be moved, and a café is going to be added.

The recreational center will house a new area for the exercise equipment, including free weights, treadmills, and new machines. “There will be a running track; it will look out over the landscape. You will see magnificent vistas of the city,” said Boyle.

Boyle also said that there will be a regulation-size basketball court that will be able to divide into two playing courts for volleyball and other indoor activities. The center will also be home to some of the athletic offices that are currently housed in Lowe Hall.

The upcoming addition that will be added to the SHU community, is a residence hall that is scheduled to be built and ready for occupancy by Fall 2005.

Contributing to the need for more residence hall space is the increasing number of students being accepted to SHU, especially since there are more programs for majors and a larger variety of sports for students to be involved in, said Boyle.

When Farrell Hall opened in August 2004, more students wanted to stay on campus, which also increased the demand for residence space. According to the SHU website, at its last meeting, the board of trustees of SHU approved $5 million for another residence hall, slated to be built in the vicinity of Farrell Hall.

The new residence hall should be open for occupancy in fall 2005 and will house upperclassmen.

The new hall is going to look exactly like Farrell Hall, with the same layouts, but with a few differences in color choices. Building Systems Incorporated, the company that built Farrell Hall, will most likely build the new dorm.

With more students on campus, one might think that more classrooms would be needed as well to accommodate all the students who will be living on campus. Boyle said that this was definitely not the case.

“Less than 40% of our classrooms are used. That was the first finding. We don’t need more academic space,” she said. All the classes are pushed into one time period during the day, but classes later at night are sometimes sparse. So in the future, when the residence hall is added, and when new students arrive, there may be more classes at night.

In the 1970’s there were more students living on campus than there are today.
In the old issues of the Setonian, there are articles written about students who lived on the fourth, fifth and sixth floors in the Administration building, and Boyle recounted how there used to be students living on the third floor of Maura, where there is now classroom space.

“We’ll be more like the way we were-I’ve never felt the campus so lively and active like it is now, and that’s what I think adding another dorm will do,” said Boyle.

Mixed feelings come from the students. Some freshmen are weary because they applied to SHU for its academics, not athletics.

Gandy said, “It casts the impression that Seton Hill is motivated toward athletics.”

Annie Brady, freshman, said, “I didn’t come here for the athletics. It didn’t have the
big teams, and it’s a very high school feeling. They should focus on the residence halls first. There are more students who want to live on campus, but can’t.”

Some upperclassmen worry whether the new facilities will be up in time for their classes to make use of them. Sophomore Nikki Cormier mentioned the recreational center: “I think it’s taking a little long. Look how fast they put up The Lodge [Farrell Hall].”

Many students are excited for these facilities to be available. The student body will have a distinct place to work out and lounge around. Freshman Kelly Pelkey said, “It will be great when it’s open.”

Brady said, “It will be nice, because Sullivan looks really rundown.”

Boyle believes the recreational center will be ready before the deadline of February 1, 2005, opening at the beginning of the year.

Students will be able to come back to SHU from January break to use the new facilities, and next fall, students will be able to return from summer vacation to live in another brand-new dormitory.

To view all articles by this writer Click here.