March 3, 2014 vanguard

Page 1

VANGUARD THE

INSIDE

VOL. 54, NO. 8

“If it matters to the USA family, it matters to us.”

MARCH 3, 2014

Student Center to reopen April 1 By SAM ANDREWS Editor-in-Chief

A

► Campus: Students rally in Capitol for higher education funding. See Campus, page 2

► Campus: Communication students aid Mobile charities. See Campus, page 4

► Sports: 2014 USA football schedule revealed.

fter roughly 2 1/2 years, the doors of USA’s Student Center will reopen to students April 1, according to Assistant Director of the Student Center Rachael Bolden. The completely renovated structure, located adjacent to Meisler Hall, will feature more rooms, which student groups can reserve for events and meetings. The Student Center has yet to launch the online aspect of its reopening. The goal is to provide online reservation capability, using pictures of each room and confirmation numbers to allow for more organization and convenience. For now, the student center is taking reservations and questions at rbolden@southalabama.edu or 251-4148256. Space has been reallocated within the building to add the extra rooms, so the student capacity will remain about the same, Bolden said. The directors have no problem being flexible with the space to accommodate students. “Before, they wanted to do a fashion thing downstairs,” Bolden said, “so we moved all the furniture out of the way and brought in the stage, and it worked.” The 5,585-square-foot ballroom will seat about 600 in an auditorium style, Associate Dean of Students and Student Center Director Dr.

SAM ANDREWS | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

(L to R) Student Center Director Dr. Krista Harrell, Dow Bark and Assistant Director of the Student Center Rachael Bolden meet at the student center during its renovations Feb. 28. Krista Harrell, said. When addressing the presidents of student organizations at USA Feb. 27 about the reopening, Bolden mentioned that there would be no cost to students or departments, but the center would be able to profit from community members reserving rooms. “We’re already getting a good bit of traffic for the ballroom, of course,” Bolden added, “just because it’s bigger than the John

Counts Room but smaller than the (Mitchell Center) arena. Those are really the only other places on campus to have an event like that.” The event hours of the Student Center will run from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. When asked about the possibility of staying open 24 hours, Bolden admitted that funding would be an issue in extending staff hours that long. Because the center is just now completing renovations, money is

stretched pretty thin, she added. The directors have not ruled it out but said it will not happen this year. Administrative groups such as student affairs, dining services, SGA, academic services and Jaguar Productions will resume operations from their centrally located offices in the student center. The “soft opening” April 1 will precede the grand opening and celebration that will take place at the beginning of the 2014 fall semester.

See Sports, page 9

► Sports: Men’s basketball conference tourny hopes slip away.

South bounces back back,, takes series against No. 12 Arkansas with double-header sweep

See Sports, page 10 find us on Facebook search “The Vanguard USA”

See Sports, page 8 ALYSSA NEWTON | SPORTS EDITOR

Check out our digital edition thevanguardonline.com

In this Issue: Sports, Page 8 Opinion, Page 14

JagLife, Page 5


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