A view from the fourth floor of the new Tate Expansion Center showcases ample lounging opportunities for students.By: Blake Trent
September 21, 2009
Students have taken over the Tate Student Center Expansion and, whether, they know it or not they have also taken over the payments on the recently constructed student center.
The two-story parking deck, three-story student center and the renovations to the existing Tate Center will cost students a total of $58.2 million dollars.
“In the Spring of 2005 we asked the student body if they would create a new fee for themselves through the SGA elections and they did,” Rodney Bennett, vice president for student affairs and dean of students said.
Bennett refers to the $25 student fee tacked onto account invoices at the beginning of every semester. The $25 fee is one fourth of the $100 student fee that students pay. Students will be paying for the new Tate Center for the next 30 years.
“It annualizes to about $200 per student because most students are here for four years or eight semesters. It would be paid off (in 30 years) with the $25 per student fee based on our idea of enrollment in 2005,” Bennett said.
Essentially, that means that each student will pay $50 a year for the new Tate Expansion. Caty Dickensheets, a senior from Savannah, Ga., had no idea she was paying for the newly constructed student center. “I guess it’s kind of like a tollbooth fee. We walk through here, we might as well drop a quarter every time,” she said.
Not every student is as sarcastic as Dickensheets. “I think it could have been used for something better, but I’m going to be paying $200 for my time here. So, I guess that’s not a high cost,” Brannon Biddy, a senior from Atlanta, Ga. said.
Biddy and Dickensheets both found flaws in how the new student center was constructed. Dickensheets is not a fan of the Tate Café. “You would think that they would put it on the top floor or somewhere with outdoor seating. It creates a bit of a traffic jam,” she said.
But, students are not paying for the student centers’ food courts. The student fees that paid for Tate II didn’t include food court areas.” said Mike Floyd, director of food services.
"Food Services paid for that area," Floyd added.
“The building architects designed the building and they, in-turn, gave us the space,” added Floyd.
The Tate Expansion center was also constructed so it could be somewhat self-sufficient. “All meeting rooms and also the Grand Hall can be rented out,” said Banks. “That money that’s being generated is going toward the Campus Life budget to operate the Tate II facility.”
Even so, Tate II has a diverse set of facilities to offer UGA students. For example, the main floor is the new home for Print & Copy Services, it includes a large amount of lounge space, and it will soon be home to a new facility called The Dawg Pen.
“The Dawg Pen is sort of like a sports lounge. It has flat screen TVs and an area for gaming. We will also be installing two counter-style seating areas with laptop plug-in,” Willie Banks, director of student life and the Tate Student Center said.
However, the construction of the Tate Center and its’ surrounding areas is not complete. There are plans to demolish the remaining ground level parking lot adjacent to the original Tate building.
“The entire project was looked at in phases,” Bennett noted. “The first phase was to build the Tate II building. The second phase is for that surface lot to go away and for that to be a green area. We were also planning to clean up the Tanyard Creek area.”
When asked if the loss of the parking lot would be an issue for maintaining adequate parking Bennett replied, “ We felt like the 500 space parking deck would be able to absorb those spaces and the Hull Parking Deck is less than a block away.”
September 21, 2009
Students have taken over the Tate Student Center Expansion and, whether, they know it or not they have also taken over the payments on the recently constructed student center.
The two-story parking deck, three-story student center and the renovations to the existing Tate Center will cost students a total of $58.2 million dollars.
“In the Spring of 2005 we asked the student body if they would create a new fee for themselves through the SGA elections and they did,” Rodney Bennett, vice president for student affairs and dean of students said.
Bennett refers to the $25 student fee tacked onto account invoices at the beginning of every semester. The $25 fee is one fourth of the $100 student fee that students pay. Students will be paying for the new Tate Center for the next 30 years.
“It annualizes to about $200 per student because most students are here for four years or eight semesters. It would be paid off (in 30 years) with the $25 per student fee based on our idea of enrollment in 2005,” Bennett said.
Essentially, that means that each student will pay $50 a year for the new Tate Expansion. Caty Dickensheets, a senior from Savannah, Ga., had no idea she was paying for the newly constructed student center. “I guess it’s kind of like a tollbooth fee. We walk through here, we might as well drop a quarter every time,” she said.
Not every student is as sarcastic as Dickensheets. “I think it could have been used for something better, but I’m going to be paying $200 for my time here. So, I guess that’s not a high cost,” Brannon Biddy, a senior from Atlanta, Ga. said.
Biddy and Dickensheets both found flaws in how the new student center was constructed. Dickensheets is not a fan of the Tate Café. “You would think that they would put it on the top floor or somewhere with outdoor seating. It creates a bit of a traffic jam,” she said.
But, students are not paying for the student centers’ food courts. The student fees that paid for Tate II didn’t include food court areas.” said Mike Floyd, director of food services.
"Food Services paid for that area," Floyd added.
“The building architects designed the building and they, in-turn, gave us the space,” added Floyd.
The Tate Expansion center was also constructed so it could be somewhat self-sufficient. “All meeting rooms and also the Grand Hall can be rented out,” said Banks. “That money that’s being generated is going toward the Campus Life budget to operate the Tate II facility.”
Even so, Tate II has a diverse set of facilities to offer UGA students. For example, the main floor is the new home for Print & Copy Services, it includes a large amount of lounge space, and it will soon be home to a new facility called The Dawg Pen.
“The Dawg Pen is sort of like a sports lounge. It has flat screen TVs and an area for gaming. We will also be installing two counter-style seating areas with laptop plug-in,” Willie Banks, director of student life and the Tate Student Center said.
However, the construction of the Tate Center and its’ surrounding areas is not complete. There are plans to demolish the remaining ground level parking lot adjacent to the original Tate building.
“The entire project was looked at in phases,” Bennett noted. “The first phase was to build the Tate II building. The second phase is for that surface lot to go away and for that to be a green area. We were also planning to clean up the Tanyard Creek area.”
When asked if the loss of the parking lot would be an issue for maintaining adequate parking Bennett replied, “ We felt like the 500 space parking deck would be able to absorb those spaces and the Hull Parking Deck is less than a block away.”
Blake,
ReplyDeleteYou've written a very solid piece. I do see a couple of lingering style errors that we discussed in the conference. I'm thinking you may have uploaded the wrong version. Check and see; also upload your photo from home sometime this week.
Thanks,
Amber