Norris University Center administrators are discussing the creation of a coffeehouse on the first floor as one of the first possible improvements in a larger renovation.
The plans for the coffeehouse are tentative, said Norris Executive Director Rick Thomas, but it is the “most concrete” of all the projects they have discussed.
As they plan renovations, administrators are considering the results of a survey sent to about 3,000 students last April. The students were asked if Norris was meeting their needs, what improvements students wanted to see and if they would be willing to assist in funding renovations. In the survey, students had indicated a coffeehouse was a “clear priority,” Thomas said.
“(The survey) has played and will play a significant role in any renovations,” he said.
In May 2004, the University Planning and Budget Group approved $84,000 for improvements to Norris, aimed at creating a “smart” meeting room and replacing first-floor furniture, according to The Daily.
The Northwestern, Purdue, Ohio State and Michigan State rooms were equipped with “smart” classroom technology in February, Thomas said. The technology in the rooms includes permanently installed video projectors.
Projects such as the coffeehouse would cost significantly more than the $84,000 now allotted to Norris renovations and would have to be funded by other Norris resources, Thomas said. He declined to name those resources.
Lizzie Levin, a Communication senior, said she thought students would appreciate a coffeehouse.
“I think any improvements they make to Norris would be popular,” she said.
It could be a place where students go to study and drink coffee rather than socialize, Levin said.
“It’s definitely a place that would be more low-key than this main room,” said Communication junior Matt Markese. He said many student groups currently meet at the couches on the first floor, and a coffeehouse there might serve as a future gathering place.
Levin and Markese said the building’s interior needs to be updated, comparing it to student centers at other universities.
“(Other schools’) facilities are certainly much more modern and contemporary,” Markese said while sitting at a table on the ground floor. “This looks like a mall that was built in ’88.”
Reach Diana Samuels at [email protected].
