Student Oasis: Upgraded Student Center
Figure 1: Picture of Wingate Hall
April 1, 2024
The Viking Builders:
Allen Fang
Labib Motasim
Mohammed Ifhaam
Faizan Karim
Introduction:
Think about how much a student center can do to promote student enrollment, foster a sense of community among students, and ignite student participation. This idea demonstrates how a strong student center can revolutionize the development of our college. Many CUNY campuses don’t have a designated area for students to engage, relax, and make friends. This gap creates a sense of alienation from university life, which escalates tension, causes obstacles in the classroom, and lowers satisfaction levels. Campus involvement is still relatively low because students are frequently limited to just showing up for class and leaving right after. We support establishing a vibrant student center that acts as an anchor for student life to address this issue head-on.
Primary Source:
We carried out a thorough survey to get feedback from the student body as part of our effort to improve the campus experience. To help us make well-informed decisions about opening a new student center, this feedback analysis report attempts to offer insights gleaned from the replies obtained through a Google Form. The Google Form covered several topics, such as the need for a new student center, preferences for cafeteria options, ideal recreational facilities, and appropriate operating hours. The purpose of the survey was to ascertain the varied requirements and preferences of the student body. An overwhelming majority, constituting 95% of respondents, advocated for a new student center. This resounding support underscores the significance of such a facility in enhancing campus life and fostering a sense of community among students. Regarding cafeteria options, the study indicated a significant inclination for Halal food. In particular, 75% of respondents said they would be interested in having access to Halal Chinese food, and a similar proportion said they would be excited about a Halal food truck. This choice emphasizes how crucial accommodating the wide range of dietary needs and cultural preferences is. Regarding leisure facilities, participants demonstrated a strong curiosity for diverse choices. Among the top three choices were: Pool table (70%),Gaming Station (70%), Sports facilities (65%) These preferences highlight how important it is to offer a well-rounded leisure experience that appeals to a variety of interests, from sports fans to gamers. Respondents favored longer hours when deciding on appropriate operation hours for the student center. The most popular choice for when it should be open is 8 am to 8 pm (40.9%). This choice reflects the necessity for flexible working hours to meet the needs of students with different schedules and guarantee accessibility all day long. The responses gathered via the Google Form highlight the resounding endorsement for creating a new student center. In addition, please refer to the appendix for the information acquired about cafeteria options, recreational facilities, and working hours that will guide our decision-making, guaranteeing that the proposed student center closely reflects the tastes and requirements of the student body. Going ahead, we’re dedicated to turning these insightful comments into concrete recommendations that improve every student’s experience on campus.
Secondary source:
Both plans seek to improve the educational experience for students by creating a new student center. Still, they take different approaches and concentrate on other issues according to the requirements and desires of the student populations they represent. Since our student body is diverse and it is essential to accommodate dietary and cultural choices, our proposal prioritizes Halal options. In an attempt to appeal to more traditional preferences while maybe ignoring the dietary needs of particular groups, the other group’s proposal combines a variety of standard dining establishments such as a deli, healthy food bar, and fast food. Though gaming areas are included in both ideas, our poll probed further into the preferences for the gaming room, taking into account choices for consoles and equipment, therefore guaranteeing a customized leisure experience. The plan from the other group only mentions a gaming area; it does not mention any further features or personalization choices, which may mean that opportunities to improve the gaming experience are missed. Our suggestion includes a movie theater with excellent chairs and cutting-edge equipment, providing a particular area for watching movies. The plan from the other group mixes sleeping capsules with a cinema room, which can restrict the amount of space available and undervalue the significance of having a distinct location for entertainment and leisure. Our proposal prioritizes Halal options to ensure inclusion and meet our student group’s varied dietary demands. This illustrates our dedication to establishing a welcoming environment where each and every student is treated with respect and value. Our plan shows a commitment to offering a personalized leisure experience that closely corresponds with the interests and preferences of our students by exploring particular preferences for the gaming area, including furniture options and console selections. Adding a cutting-edge movie theater to our student center expands its recreational possibilities by giving them a special place to unwind and watch movies. To sum up, our proposal is the greatest option to vote for since it best suits the requirements and tastes of our student body and stands out for its emphasis on diversity, customization, and improved entertainment options.
Action Plan:
To discuss the construction, we plan to renovate the current student center, which is located in Wingate. The current student center is three floors high but could use some improvements. For example, rooms with pool tables and ping-pong tables always reach maximum capacity. This is because those activities are more popular for students to use. By expanding Wingate Hall, we can attract more students to the student center. In addition, we want to tear down rooms that are abandoned or untouched. Then we can fill them with new entertainment or expand with existing rooms. This will help keep the students all occupied with other fun games to be engaged in so that we can prevent an overcrowded room. Our student center will be approximately 22,400 square feet, each floor containing approximately 8,000 square feet. Within the student center, there will be a recreational space; gaming room; a student lounge; a dining hall; restaurant; gym; cinema; club office; storage room; merchandise; arcade; weight lift room; locker room; and front desk. Remember, we want our students to walk out of the new and improved student center with a smiley face.
First floor:
This floor serves the purpose of information and socializing. With the addition of restaurants, the current location of the dining hall is not the right fit. We decided to move it towards the center on the left side of the building. The restaurant will have a kitchen attached to it. The location of the restaurant will be right across the dining hall for easy access. The restaurant will attempt to expose CCNY students to various foods across different cultures. Also, it will comfort students who are already familiar with the foods being served and feel like they are at home. Then, we removed all private study rooms and extended the student lounge. We included bean bags and couches inside the lounge for extra comfort. Between the student lounge will be the club office and storage room. The club office will allow students involved in clubs to host meetings at their preferred time. Moving onto the recreational room, we want to demolish the wall that divides between the ping pong and pool table. It will help open the room up and make it appear much more significant. Next, the merchandise room will be on the right side, closer to the entrance. It will contain clothing, accessories, and any products that promote CCNY. Finally next to the merchandise room will become the front desk. Their responsibility is to help students who need assistance around the building, help with technology issues, and report a problem.
Figure 2: Floor one design plan
Figure 3: Lounge seating area Figure 4: Dining hall
Second floor:
This is where the fun begins. Using Wingate Hall, we will extend the existing weightlifting room into the wrestling room but keep the locker rooms the same. Right next to the weightlifting room, we will transform the studio room into an arcade room. Having various types of arcade games will bring in extra money that can be used to maintain Wingate and as profit for upcoming changes that can occur for the student center. In addition to that, we will have a gaming room right below the weightlifting room. We will remove the virtual reality room and combine the two game rooms to make a single game room for PC and console games. Being a place where you can enjoy video games alone or with friends, it will also be equipped with soundproofing padding to ensure you can be as loud as you want without disturbing others outside. Last but not least, we will have a cinema to the left of the gaming room. Combining the movie area/sleeping area from the original design, we will combine it to make a cinema and showcase weekly movies for cheap prices. We will allow students to vote on what movie they want; that way, it will attract more students to attend the cinema and can be used to gain some profit in the long run by running the student union.
Figure 5: Floor two design plan
Figure 6: Gaming room consoles Figure 7: Arcade machines section
Third floor:
We plan to keep this floor the same as the original plan but add two new bathrooms. For a gym that people can freely use to play basketball, volleyball, tennis, or any other sport, we can host events and tournaments, letting people form teams with their friends and compete against others to win prizes. We can charge a small entry fee for tournaments; that way, we don’t bring in too many people but can also gain some funds for any other events. Having a gym that students can use freely to host events will attract more students to apply and be interested in joining City College.
Figure 8: Floor three design plan
Gantt Chart:
As you can see in Figure 9, this whole renovation will take approximately three months to remodel the Wingate Hall into our new design which should bring more life into the dull, cramped space of Wingate Hall.
Figure 9: Our timetable for renovation
Cost & Benefits
Cost:
Below, we present our chart for what we expect the project’s total cost to be.
| Purchases | Sqrt ft | Costs (USD) |
| Area Being Renovated | 16,400 sqft | $4,920,000 |
| Labor | N/A | $748,800 |
| Restaurant/Kitchen | 900 sqft | $405,000 |
| Recreation Expenses | 1,500 sqft | $4,500 |
| Lounge Expenses | 1,350 sqft | $9,240 |
| Furnishing | N/A | $16,500 |
| Gaming Room | 900 sqft | $18,300 |
| Arcade Room | 2,400 sqft | $27,750 |
| Gym | 6,000 sqft | $50,000 |
| Cinema | 1200 sqft | $40,000 |
| Total: | 22,400 sqft | $6,240,100 |
Figure 10: Overall costs for the Student Center Project
Benefits:
The newly built student center would give the college community many advantages as a vibrant gathering place for students, staff, and faculty. With our budget of $6,250,000, we plan to create an inviting atmosphere for our students, allowing them to go in whenever they want. With our student center, we would increase student interactions by giving them a safe space to hang out with their friends. We created many different areas for students to relax between classes and do things like play in the arcade, play on some of our consoles, and even workout in our gym. Though the budget for this project may be high, we have created many different profitable sources for the school to help pay back the project’s costs. These things include our restaurant, arcade, cinema, and even our room, which the school can use to sell its merchandise, including our school’s apparel. This new state-of-the-art student center will increase the number of incoming students this school will receive, making it very beneficial.
Team – The Viking Builders
Allen Fang is a first-year majoring in Mechanical Engineering at City College of New York. He attended Benjamin N. Cardozo High School and was in the Engineering program, he learned to use CAD software such as Solidworks and Revit, but also learned how to use Microsoft Office. Allen is diligent in learning and adaptive to different roles. In his free time, he enjoys doing various activities like hiking, biking, running, and traveling.
Labib is a motivated Electrical Engineering freshman at The City College of New York’s Honors College. He has experience with software development internships and is adept at JavaScript and Python. He possesses determination, resourcefulness, communication, and strong problem-solving skills.
Mohammed Ifhaam is an ambitious freshman mechanical engineering student at City College of New York with AutoCAD experience and design skills. He contains a great understanding of Microsoft programs such as excel, powerpoint, and word. He is a critical thinker, organized, reliable, and great in teamwork. He hopes to gain opportunities that will expand his knowledge to make an impact within the industry of his interest.
Hello, my name is Faizan Karim. An ambitious and goal-oriented Civil Engineering student at the City College of New York. With experiences using Microsoft Office and as a team leader in multiple academic projects, I seek to diversify innovative engineering firms as an intern.
Conclusion:
To sum up, the student center will be crucial in increasing student enrollment, building a better sense of community, and sparking active participation among students by offering a specific location for them to interact, unwind, and make relationships. Due to the lack of such a place on many CUNY campuses, students have felt more alone and cut off from university life, which has increased stress, made academic work more complex and reduced satisfaction levels.
Furthermore, creating the student center will have extra advantages in solving these urgent problems. Adding shops and eateries to the complex, run by our students, will bring in a significant amount of money for the college and create job possibilities on campus. This creative strategy provides financial assistance to our students and enhances the school community by encouraging cooperation and entrepreneurship. It is also anticipated that the opening of this cutting-edge student center will draw more candidates to CCNY. The attraction of contemporary facilities, a lively campus community, and more participation possibilities will surely make CCNY a more desirable option for prospective students. With the launch of this revolutionary project, CCNY is positioned to prosper as a preeminent university, helping students reach their greatest potential and influencing the course of our neighborhood and beyond.
Reference:
- Do You Want A New Student Center? (n.d.). Google Docs. Retrieved March 31, 2024, from https://forms.gle/5MKR6HwsJ7bHM6Ef9
- Microsoft designer – stunning designs in a Flash. Microsoft Designer – Stunning designs in a flash. (n.d.). https://designer.microsoft.com. Accessed 31 Mar. 2024.
- “Wingate Center: Student Center at City College.” Wingate Center Student Center at City College, wingatecenter.commons.gc.cuny.edu/wingate-center-proposal/. Accessed 31 Mar. 2024.
Appendix:
