East Carolinian

Issue date: 8/14/08 Section: Features

Media Credit: staff

The wondering and waiting is over: Mendhenhall will be opened to students this fall.

Mendenhall Student Center was set to close this summer in preparation for a two-year renovation in which the interior would be reworked and brought up to code. This would also include a face-lift of the exterior to match other buildings surrounding it. Construction was originally scheduled to begin last summer, but was postponed to the end of December. Now, the project has been brought to a standstill as administration reassess the overall project.

The Board of Trustees established Mendenhall Student Center upon a dedication in 1974, when construction had commenced on a commodious student center that was in the planning stages for several years.

Today, the building is the focal point of university unions, student experiences and student media. Mendenhall also hosts weekly events and programs in Hendrix Theater and Pirate Underground, two staple locations in the building.

For many, Mendenhall Student Center doesn't just serve as office space. In the past year alone, the building hosted approximately 7,528 meetings and events, up seven percent from the year before. However, projections for the university have indicated that the student population could reach between 35,000 and 45,000 in the next 10 years.

Dean Smith, associate director of finance and administration at ECU, says that the project came to formation in 2002, but was examined thoroughly before construction could begin.

"Kemal Atkins, the vice provost for student affairs took a look at the project and decided that we needed to revisit it again," said Smith, who is part of a planning committee that meets and brainstorms ideas for the project. "It's clear just how fast this university is growing, so we want to explore every opportunity and option that we can in order to make sure that we can adequately adapt to this growth."

Smith also confirms that although there were options to either renovate Mendenhall or just begin construction on an entirely new student center, no set models have been determined just yet.

ECU senior Jeni Patel believes that renovations should continue as planned, citing that minor construction in the past still hasn't brought it up to par.

"I think that Mendenhall Student Center should be renovated," said Patel. "The building has had a lot of remodeling done over the past couple of years but it still needs a total makeover."

Continued...

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