November 17, 2015

Page 1

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2015

HILL’S $80 MILLION

MAINTENANCE M AY H E M Part 2 of 4

FACELIFT

SEE PAGE 4

Penn Student Government shares annual updates, goals The State of the School was held in Harrison for the first time SOPHIA LEPORTE Staff Reporter

On Monday night, students filled the Harrison Rooftop Lounge to hear Penn student government leaders answer questions about their current projects and future goals. The event began with the presentation of the Penn Student Government State of School Awards. Jessica Mertz, Penn’s director of student sexual violence prevention and education, won the administrator award. The student award went to Wharton and Engineering senior Alexandre Kleis, president of the Assembly of International Students. The meeting continued with the Nominations and Elections Committee President Devin Grossman, a Wharton senior, delivering pre-submitted questions from the student body to a panel of representatives from the six student government committees. An important question that many committees discussed was about mental health and how the student government groups are addressing the issue on campus. Undergraduate Assembly President and SEE STATE OF THE SCHOOL PAGE 3

It’s time for FRES to clean up its mess so that students and FRES employees can stop suffering from its disorganization.” - The Daily Pennsylvanian PAGE 6

GRAPHIC BY GABBY ROTHSCHILD | DESIGN ASSOCIATE

This is the first major renovation to Hill in 55 years JEFFREY CAREYVA Deputy News Editor

How much does a makeover cost? For Hill College House, the price is $80.5 million, but Hill’s renovation is more like a full-on structural surgery. After the 2016 Commencement, Hill will shut down and undergo substantial renovations throughout the entire 550-bed college house. A few renovation highlights are the much-sought-after addition of A/C, remodeling of all bathrooms to be private and gender-neutral, new club rooms, an upgraded and technologically integrated study space and a revamped dining hall.

This upcoming renovation project is the first of its magnitude that Hill will have experienced since the facility was completed in 1960. The building was originally designed by architect Eero Saarinen, who also designed St. Louis’ Gateway Arch and the TWA Flight Center at JFK. One of the major costs of the renovation is the upgrade to its heating and electrical systems and the addition of air conditioning. An overhead shaft will provide A/C throughout student bedrooms, Mariette Buchman, director of Design and Construction at Facilities and Real Estate Services, said. University Architect David Hollenberg said it was a challenge to find space for the A/C, but they managed to implement it without reducing the size of student

bedrooms. But FRES, Residential Services and College Houses & Academic Services have much more in mind for the renovation. The cost reflects the amount of work that has to be done to refresh Hill to 21st-century standards. “For a full renovation like this with so much infrastructural work being done, [$80 million] is really not a bad cost,” Buchman said. “Upgrading labs costs more per square foot.” Another large expense is the elevator and several lifts that will be added inside the building, making Hill more accessible and opening up more rooms to disabled students. Borrowing from the success of the recent renovation of Gregory College House, Hill will feature a large club

lounge that will act as a casual recreational space. The club lounge will feature kitchens, games like pool and foosball, televisions and the typical lounge furniture, designed to bring all residents together. In order to make studying in the house more convenient, Hill will have a new study center equipped with six private group rooms with monitors. There will also be a “tinker room” for residents to design and innovate. “It will be a place — near the Engineering School — for students to work on design projects and just be creative,” Executive Director of CHAS Martin Redman said. SEE HILL PAGE 2

Car bursts into flames on 38th Street

GYMNASTICS ISSUE BACK PAGE

CONNOR AUGUSTINE | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

On Tuesday around 6 p.m., a car was on fire on 38th Street between Chestnut and Sansom streets. The entire hood was crushed in by the time firefighters put out the flames, and the car was towed away shortly after. The Division of Public Safety did not respond to an information request by publication time.

FOLLOW US @DAILYPENN FOR THE LATEST UPDATES

ONLINE 7 DAYS A WEEK AT THEDP.COM


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.