An approximated half-million dollar budget for remodeling Ventura College’s student activities lounge was approved by The Associated Students of Ventura College student board.
Some of the most notable changes to be made to the student lounge include an entirely renovated ceiling, a new marmoleum floor (an eco-friendly linoleum), the removal of the vending machines and brand new television sets.
Since the building itself has been around for more than 50 years, electrical work must be done on the facility. Professional painters and architects will also be visiting the building periodically.
The ASVC will be renovating the student activities lounge over the course of the 2010-2011 semesters. Development of this major project shall soon be underway and is expected to be complete by the end of 2011. The funding for the renovation project was available through the “Student Center Fee.”
VC students, upon registration with the campus, all paid $1 per unit for up to $10 per semester cumulatively. This fee was placed in effect ten years ago, but because not many people knew of the fee’s existence, the money was left to accumulate over the last decade. As a result, the budget for the project has grown to approximately 1.4 million dollars.
Though the money was always available, no faculty member or past student government had taken action to utilize the resources to remodel the student activities lounge, making the 2010-2011 ASVC the first to do so. The committee itself agrees that the facility itself is in need of much work.
Mainstreet Architects + Planners, Inc. is company that will be responsible for the remodeling of the student center. Former clients of this company include the Ventura Police Dept., Santa Paula Memorial Hospital and Saint Thomas Aquinas Church.
ASVC looked for inspiration on what elements would be necessary for the VC’s lounge. Joe Ruiz, former ASVC Vice President, analyzed the student lounges from Adelante Charter School of Santa Barbara, Franklin Middle School of Oxnard and Oxnard College.
Ruiz believes simple elements such as the plants and flowers that grow on campus and how they tie into the facilities all add to the homeliness of the lounge.
“Community relations is what’s going to gear the look of the environment of the student lounge,” said Ruiz.
Since Calworks will be moving into another building on campus, the vacant space was originally going to be used to station VC’s new online media source, Pirate Soup.
However, the new offices of Pirate Soup will be located in the building off of Day Road. The Canon Copy Center shall remain in the Student Activities Center.
The five-person committee overseeing the renovations consists of Jacqui Arroyo and Joe Ruiz, co-chairs; AJ Valenzuela, secretary; and Elizabeth Hunt and Kathleen Leonard, members. The committee has room for ten students all together.
“The committee is diligently working with both the administration and the district to make this happen for the students,” said Leonard. “We welcome anyone who would like to join the committee to come by the ASVC office and express their interest in being on the committee to myself or any other member of our student government.”
Arroyo, who heads the committee, is the major creative force regarding the lounge’s new layout. She has visited Home Depot looking for new color possibilities, and worked closely with Hunt to generate new ideas for the lounge.
The ASVC found it important to understand the power they had as a student government. Being students, there was only so much they could do.
Working to bring the development of the student lounge into fruition proved to be a great challenge, but they believe that all the hard work will be appreciated in the end.
“The renovation process of the Student Activities Center will not only benefit the current student body but also the future generations to come as a place of relaxation in between classes,” said Arroyo in an email.
Phase 1 of the project, which includes the renovation of the student’s lounge itself, was given the completion deadline of next May 2011. Phase 2 is the renovation of the student government offices. The budget for these two phases of the project is $450,000.
If any students have questions they are welcomed to visit the ASVC offices for more information. Stundets interesting in joining the committee may contact Leonard at [email protected].
