Due to an unexpected delay in planning and construction, Thurgood Marshall College students will have to wait a bit longer for the opening of their widely anticipated new student center and cafe. Originally scheduled to be operational by the beginning of fall quarter, the complex currently has no set completion date.
The idea of a new student center was the joint creation of Marshall Student Affairs, Residential Life, and Housing and Dining Services. Housing and Dining Services is currently housed in temporary office buildings, which must be vacated by 2006. Planners favored the proposal of relocating to the current student area at Eucalyptus Point.
“We had planned to complete the space exchange between [Housing and Dining Services] and TMC this summer if we could get all the facilities involved upgraded and completed by fall,” Housing and Dining Director Mark Cunningham said. “Unfortunately, the construction labor market in San Diego is too active with all the new construction and the rebuilding of all the homes that were lost last year [in the fires] to find the folks we needed to do the work and have it done by opening.”
An on-time opening would have also required students to sacrifice the completion of housing renovation at the college, leaving many common areas unusable. His department could not see justification for such a decision, Cunningham said.
“From my perspective, I didn’t and don’t think it is fair or reasonable to ask residents to give up access to their limited meeting/common space in our housing during the school year, particularly when there was no immediate need to make the space exchange,” he said.
Despite the delay, Marshall Dean of Student Affairs Ashanti Houston Hands said she sees the student center as an improvement to the campus environment.
“Our areas were able to work together to come up with a plan that would help each department create spaces that would enhance community and positively impact our delivery of service,” Hands said. “We are meeting to discuss our future plans, which include the new estimated opening.”
With renovations estimated to cost between $25,000 and $35,000, the new student center will be located in the building just north of Geisel Library. Designed to build community and increase programmable and meeting space at Marshall, it is expected to include a commuter lounge, meeting and office space for students and organizations, an activities center and game room, multi-purpose space, cafe, television studio and a kitchenette.
“It will bring diverse populations together in a social and communal environment,” Hands said. “It is our goal to decorate our center with pieces that reflect and affirm our college’s rich history and philosophy.”
Thurgood Marshall College Student Council Chair Becky Lee said she was enthusiastic about the plan.
“From a student leader perspective, I was most excited about the student organization office,” Lee said. “With the new student center, student leaders [will] have a place to share ideas, work on projects, make posters and store supplies for future use.”
Funding for the project will come from the operations and renovations portions of the Housing and Dining Services budget. The annual allocations are set aside to renovate housing and dining facilities for each college on a rotating basis. Cunningham said he expects that Housing and Dining Services will complete portions of the renovations, and the remainder will be contracted to construction companies.
Although the plans have temporarily been halted, Hands said the administration’s commitment to creating a thriving campus community has not.
“We will continue to provide the same quality service in the form of commuter space, student organization space, a television studio and activities center in the facilities we have called home for many years,” Hands stated in a letter to Marshall students. “I encourage you to please continue to make use of [current student areas] for the upcoming year.”
