The
SpringHillian April 9, 2015
Volume 100 Issue 8
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
New Housing Options Unveiled For 2015-2016 By: Amelie Prather Contributing Writer Students at Spring Hill College will have more choices for housing for the fall semester, announced the Office of Residence Life at a Student Government Association (SGA) meeting held last month. Rosalie Carpenter, Vice President of Student Affairs, informed members of the SGA about the college’s recent purchase of Portier Place to be used for additional student housing. The building, which is currently a retirement community, will be converted into student apartments with various floor plans. Additonally, the Office of Residence Life has officialy announced that Langan Hall is scheduled to re-open for the Fall 2015 semester. According to Carpenter, this housing option is intended to be a more academic living environment for upperclassmen. In talking about the building’s purpose she stated, “Portier is going to be a very different space. I think it’s really designed for a more studious student, maybe a nursing student or student teachers that are up really early and have a little bit of a different schedule.” Poriter Place is said to be a great option for upperclassmen who are participating in full-time jobs or internships. The current plans for the building will include a fitness center and a dining facility on the premises. The new dorm building will require students to take responsibility for their new space. Any disruptive influences to the community will be removed. Because of the building’s proximity to Old Shell Road and the edge of campus, the college plans on increasing
security for the building, making it a more safe and secure living environment for students. Portier Place is not intended to replace the existing apartments on campus, but it will provide more students with the opportunity to experience apartment-style living. The building features 31 appartments with seven different floor plans ranging from one-bedroom to four-bedrooms. While the cost of living in the new apartments has yet to be determined, students should expect to see an increase in price compared to other housing options. The college will begin expanding the parking lot and updating the apartments in July. Portier Place will be among the choices for housing selection, beginning in early April. The announcement was made to the SGA as well as five spectators who attended the first SGA meeting under newly inducted President Conner Bueche. After the members of SGA voted to confirm new appointments, each member brought up issues they felt needed to be addressed. By next summer, SGA plans on having trails from the Skips/Viragh complex to Mirror Lake so that students can have an outdoor space to socialize. SGA also plans on addressing other student suggestions and concerns, such as putting ice machines in the dorm buildings, making designated fire pits around campus, putting peepholes on dorm doors, and creating a staff appreciation day. SGA members also expressed concerns regarding their relationship with other organizations on campus, particularly Residence Life. They feel that Residence Life and SGA need to have a better working relationship
Portier Place, located on Old Shell Road, is being converted into student housing and will be included in the 20152016 Housing Lottery. Construction will begin in July. Photo by: Phillip Travis in order to best serve the student body and make important joint decisions. An initiative was proposed to invite Residence Life and other campus organizations to attend regularly scheduled SGA meetings to express their concerns and
collaborate with SGA on various issues. SGA, along with Carpenter, discussed plans for launching a redesigned and more mobile friendly BadgerWeb to better accommodate students, and make the website easier to access. Overall, SGA
plans on improving campus and Residence Life for the upcoming school year by addressing student concerns and coming up with new ideas to improve student life on campus.