About eight months ago, the decision was made to change the third floor of Clark into a student hub. Since then, it has been a flurry of activity with renovations, offices moving in, and the creation of spaces for students to hang out.
Currently, Residence Hall Association (RHA) has spaces on the third floor, as do veteran students. The Center of Gender Equity (CGE) is moving to the newly renovated area, and a space for students that organize orientation will make its way up to the third floor as well. The CGE’s lounge space will occupy space on the third floor, as well as Kathleen Converse’s office, who is the overseer of the center. Across the hall from the CGE lounge is a Muslim prayer room, for students of that faith to utilize.
The goal of the new space is to create more areas for students to collaborate and spend time together. Dean of Students Will Perkins described the CGE lounge as a place for students to socialize and develop a community. It is also a place where people can just be who they are.
Another goal was to create new spaces for communities of students that may not have had areas to work together and communicate with each other. Director of Transfer and Greek Life Support Services Denise Giesbers manages and oversees many different groups across campus. With all of them moving to Clark, such as orientation, transfer student services and veteran services to name a few, it allows her to be more productive and efficient. “That way, I am not running all over campus throughout the day,” said Giesbers. “It also allows me to have face-to-face conversations with students more often.”
A fun fact about the renovations is that some of the furniture from the older residential halls was built into the walls back in the fifties. When the desks were removed, students items from years past were found because they had fallen back behind the furniture and were impossible to retrieve.
Perkins talks about some of the items found such as a key to a Volkswagen from the sixties, a Jefferson Airplane album, and a multitude of cards from family members and photos.
“It is like a fun little time capsule,” said Giesbers. “Especially because I attended Pacific and I lived in Clark, so it is little pieces of our history.”
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