TSC changes approved by Exec. Committee
Plans to shift a number of offices in the Taggart Student Center were approved by President Kermit L. Hall’s Executive Committee Wednesday.
With the approval, construction can start in the TSC after graduation in May.
“Everybody seems to think that this is a good thing,” Vice President of Student Services Juan Franco said. “We won’t do anything, of course, during the semester, but right after Commencement we’ll start doing some things.”
The change that will have the biggest impact on students will be the moving of the Cashiers Office from its present location in the Juniper Lounge to the Registrars Office and making the Juniper Lounge entirely a student area.
Construction on that first phase of the remodeling will cost $89,000, Franco said. On Tuesday the Associated Students of Utah State University Executive Council made a $25,000 commitment to the project.
Assistant Vice President for Student Life Gary Chambers said there were some preliminary meetings with ASUSU council members about offering support to the project.
“That’s about as strong a statement as they can make,” Chambers said. “I don’t see a negative piece to this.”
With the changes, the Bull Pen game room in the TSC will be closing to make way for the new Utah Statesman offices. While it was originally thought that closing the Bull Pen would eliminate billiards classes at USU, that has since changed.
Five to seven billiards tables will be moved to the Fieldhouse, and billiards classes will likely resume Fall Semester, Franco said.
“The only downside is that we won’t have 11 tables,” he said. “We will have a smaller number, but they will be free.”
Still having tables available for students to shoot pool is a good thing, said billiards instructor and Bull Pen manager Rick Skinner.
“I’m really glad they are putting forth an effort to keep at least some of the classes,” Skinner said. “That’s letting the students know that they are putting forth an effort at least a little bit.”
Skinner said there isn’t another place in town that college students like to go to play pool, without going to a bar. He said the Cache Valley Fun Park and Logan Lanes Bowling Alley always have lots of kids running around in them.
“A lot of them don’t live in dorms, where there’s pool tables there, so they had no other place to go,” he said.
Skinner said the arcade business – another service offered by the Bull Pen – has almost died off because everyone has games on their home computers that they can play for free.
With the Bull Pen being closed after this semester, Skinner said, he will possibly continue teaching billiards classes at USU and seek another part time job on campus. Skinner has multiple years of maintenance experience at USU as a former employee of University Housing.
-str@cc.usu.edu
.Dustin Hunsaker, an undeclared freshman, plays pool in the Bull Pen with Belle Jensen of Logan. The pool tables will be moved to the Fieldhouse, where billiards classes will continue to be offered and students will be able to play pool for free when the classes aren´t in session. (Photo by Scott Davis)