Student center tranformations
The Taggart Student Center is slowly getting a subtle makeover this year, bit by bit, to continually accommodate students at Utah State University.
Recent and upcoming changes in the TSC include renovation of Carousel Square cafeteria, donations of paintings from local artists and additions of advertising television screens in the Hub.
Carousel Square farewell
The days of getting a bowl of soup or a slice of bread at the popular Carousel Square cafeteria on the second level of the TSC will be over beginning fall semester 2006.
During the summer, renovation will begin to transform the cafeteria into a resident dining facility to accommodate the 512 students who will be housed in the new student living/learning community south of the Logan LDS Institute, said Chuck Weaver, director of dining services.
“[The cafeteria] is the main change, but we’re constantly upgrading facilities for the students,” Weaver said.
The new cafeteria will be similar to the Junction, which is on the north side of campus, where students with meal plans can eat. However, students and faculty without meal plans will still be able to eat at the new cafeteria, but it will be an all-you-can-eat meal at a flat rate, Weaver said.
“It’s going to be very interactive,” Weaver said. “We’ve received a lot of input on what the cafeteria is going to have in it.”
It will have a capacity of 1,300 students and construction is being funded by the university. Decisions on making the change, however, were made mostly out of necessity for the students living in the new nearby facility.
“We try to update things as needed and as we become aware of them, some of them become necessary,” said Eric Olsen, assistant director of the TSC.
Weaver is unsure whether the new cafeteria will still be called Carousel Square once the renovation is complete.
Artistic touch
Six new paintings, donated by local artists and alumni, have graced a wall across from the Sunburst Lounge in the TSC recently, which showcase artists that are affiliated with the university in some degree.
“Some of them are world-class artists known from all over and we have quite a number of them in the valley,” Olsen said.
Four of the paintings were hung in August: “Exquisite Flowers” by Kent R. Wallis, USU alumnus; “Winter in Logan” by Harrison Thomas Groutage, previous USU art department head; “August Travelers” by Jerry Fuhriman, USU alumnus and professor emeritus and “Poplars in Fall” by Colleen K. Howe, a Cache Valley artist.
“I was really honored that my work would be chosen to on display at the university,” Howe said. “I was really happy.”
Howe has been a professional artist during the last 15 years and in the past year, she opened her own business called Windridge Studio.
The remaining paintings, “Old Main” and “Homecoming,” by Larry Conrad Winborg, USU alumnus, were hung during finals week in December.
Advertising close to home
Two new television screens, provided by a new local business owner and USU alumnus, were recently hung in the Hub cafeteria for local businesses to use for advertising.
Josh Taylor, owner of Ignite Marketing, based out of Logan, presented the idea of the advertising television screens to the university fall semester. The university is now leasing the screen space to Taylor each month.
“We’ve had tons of positive input on it so far and a lot of recognition – more than we thought we would get,” Taylor said.
Currently, there are 12 businesses advertising on the screens and Taylor hopes the university will eventually also advertise campus-wide events and information items as well.
However, USU is aware of every business that advertises on the television screens.
“We control all advertising on the screens so we don’t offend anyone,” Weaver said.
Since the business began six weeks ago, Ignite Marketing has also installed screens at Cafe Sabor, Center Street Grill and Angie’s.
-mmackay@cc.usu.edu
A Utah State University student rehearses a piano piece before the ribbon-cutting of the new Manon Caine Russell Kathryn Caine Wanlass Performance Hall Thursday afternoon.