Dining Bay is consumed by construction, forcing Student Programs to relocate activities
Sydney Conrad
Staff Writer

Construction has consumed yet another part of the Pierce College campus, and this time it has a direct impact on the student body.
Taking away the second space given to Student Programs and Student Government for events, the Dining Bay is going under major construction
through the spring quarter.
The Dining Bay has been the primary location for activities since the Performance Lounge went under construction four-and-a half years ago.
But according to Allie Hatch, the student programs coordinator, the changes have not hindered them, but only pushed them to be more creative
with setting up activities.
“Because we have been going through this for so many years with the major remodel of the Performance Lounge, and every time something happens like that, you have to look at it like a challenge,” Hatch said.
“Now we just have to look at it and plan, see what’s possible and just work with it. The team is really good about being flexible and creative,”
Hatch added.
Although the Performance Lounge is the optimal space for events, Hatch and the team at Student Programs have expanded their use of the library lobby, the theater and the lecture hall for student activities.
However, with the constant changes of location, events may not be reaching their full potential of student attendance.“In some ways, it has affected it really adversely. Say we have an event in the HEC, which is a little bit out of the way, so some students don’t show up,” Hatch explained.
“Or it may be so secluded in a classroom or the Lecture Hall, or maybe they don’t even know where it’s at, so they don’t show up,” Hatch added.
Although the Dining Bay is under severe construction, this is not stopping Student Programs from using the area.
It will be a decrease in space, but events will still be held in the cafeteria, due to its optimal location: in the midst of the students.
“Because it’s right in the thick of things, with the hustle and bustle in the cafeteria, the attendance has been increased,” Hatch explained.
“Some people who wouldn’t normally participate, especially in something that is hands-on, would jump right in,” Hatch added.
The construction on the Performance Lounge has not only ousted student events, but it has displaced the entire office of Student Programs,
distinguishing the simple relationship this department had with students.
However, every challenge comes to an end, and this one is in sight.
The Performance Lounge as well as the Dining Bay and other key locations on the fourth floor Cascade Building will be reopened
this summer, 2012.
By fall quarter everything should be back to normal, with Student Programs and the Veterans Affairs Offices back in their rightful place.
“I think we will going about 95 percent back to the Performance Lounge, because that has been the whole idea for the remodel.
But there are still going to be things that will work better in the Dining Bay,” Hatch said.