Fig 1: An image of our future student center 

November 6, 2023 

Oree:

Tonique Gordon

Anjura Rahman

Cynthia Suquilanda

Natalie Delgado

Introduction 

According to an article on the University of Montana website, some of the first student centers were created in the early 19th century in England at the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford. These early student centers created an environment where students could express themselves as they wished. This idea was then exported to college campuses in the eastern USA. One of the first colleges to create a student center in the US was Harvard in the year 1832. Since then student centers have flourished in colleges all over the US, except at our college, CCNY.

  One of the biggest complaints heard about our college campus is that there is no social life on campus. When we conducted our survey of 100 participants 37% of people reported they found it difficult to socialize on campus, 13%  report having no interest in socializing. When we asked the reason why they had no interest or found it difficult they reported they felt they had no place to connect to other people or to expand their social circle. The places for students to chill and relax are extremely limited. 

If we check the Rate My Professor website for CCNY one of our ratings is social life, with a 2.5 out of 5 rating. When reading these ratings, many students complained about the same issues: “no social life..the only places you can hang out is the NAC..Dull food..boring campus life.” The most common place people reported going to relax is the NAC library. This is quite sad if you ask us. This school student body is mainly made up of 18-23 yr and what do these 18-23yr do for fun, they hang out in a library. Sounds quite depressing. 

Our student body needs somewhere they can be stress free, have fun and  escape from the academic air. A student center can do just that. Student centers provide a place where students can relax and reenergize. With our proposal, we aim to outline a comprehensive plan for the image of our student center. We want to ensure that it is a space where students can connect, learn, and thrive.We envision a student center that doesn’t just serve our campus, but elevates it, providing a space that fosters engagement, learning, and a sense of belonging. 

What do student centers offer?

College life can be incredibly challenging. The demanding and often harsh environment can force students to quickly adapt or face difficulties. This sudden shift in the environment frequently has a significant impact on students. Students often face problems like an increase in mental health issues, mainly caused by factors like: the pressure to succeed academically, financial struggles and the uncertainty of the future. On the Sucide Prevention Resource Center webpage, they reported information from a survey conducted by the American College Health Association in 2015. This survey reports that 30% of students report being stressed, 22% report suffering from anxiety, 20% report having sleeping difficulties and 14% report being stressed.

Students need a safe space to sit back, relax and relieve these types of problems. They need a place to distract them from the academic air. A student center can do just that.How will a student center achieve this? Student centers are solely based around serving its student body. Student centers provide a place where students can socialize and enjoy well needed recreation. According to Global Scientific Journals, Volume 8, issue 2 student centers are extremely important for campuses because they provide a provide a proper community Centrefor the campus, encourage greater interaction among students by providing spaces for them to meet, share, work and learn together, encourage relaxation and recreation, encourage active living through sports and games facilities. Student centers, by virtue of their focus on fostering a sense of community within the college campus, have the potential to be highly effective in addressing some of the challenges that students commonly encounter, as previously mentioned. They can play a crucial role in shedding light on these issues and working towards solutions. By offering a welcoming and supportive community space, students gain a reliable haven where they can engage in various activities when they are stressed. This, in turn, helps to reduce their stress levels and assures them that they have an entire student body standing by, ready to support them with their diverse needs.

What does our Student body want?

Fig 2: Bar graph showing 56 students answer yes and 45 answer no.

Fig 3: Bar graph showing where students want to relax. 

Fig 4: Bar graph on whether students struggle to make friends.

Fig 5: Whether students want to invest in another academic building or student life center.

Fig 6: Bar graph showing how many students find college life fun and how many do not.   

These findings underscore the compelling need for a CCNY student center that offers a multifaceted environment for relaxation, socializing, studying, and fostering new friendships.

Let’s Take a look at other campuses’ student centers.

To craft anything effectively, our first steps should  involve looking at similar examples. We must examine the attributes the examples have and try to integrate those elements into what we envision. When it comes to creating our student center, we must take a look at some of the best student centers across the United States. This analysis will allow us to gain well needed insights into the facilities theses to student centers provide. In this section, we will examine what some of the best student centers in the US have in order to incorporate some of the fundamental ideas into our own student center. 

We will be looking at 4 different student centers from the The 50 Best College Student   Centers list on the OnlineCollgeWiz website. 

• Number 1. The student center of California State Polytechnic University 

Fig 7: Image of the student center of California State Polytechnic University

This is the Bronco Student Center. Some of its features are: a food court, plenty of lounge spaces, massive halls for large meetings and events. A very unique feature of this student center is that it is open 7 days of week, therefore there is always a space available for fun and excitement for the students at this university.  

• Number 2. The student center of Columbia University 

 Fig 8: Image of the student center of Columbia University 

This is the Alfred J. Lerner Hall. It is open 7 days a week providing a wide range of activities for the students of Columbia University 24/7. It has a great cafe, massive lounge space, multiple dining options and a very interesting feature, a study free zone. 

• Number 3. The student center of Cornell University 
•  Fig 8: Image of the student center of Columbia University 

This is the Alfred J. Lerner Hall. It is open 7 days a week providing a wide range of activities for the students of Columbia University 24/7. It has a great cafe, massive lounge space, multiple dining options and a very interesting feature, a study free zone. 

1. Number 3. The student center of Cornell University 

Fig 9: Image of the student center of Columbia University 

Willard Straight Hall has the most beautiful architecture of all the top student centers. Its beautiful gothic architecture makes it unique on this list. It is also very large, having 5 floors with libraries, student life offices, lounges, meeting rooms, study rooms, an art gallery and a cinema. The cinema is the most attractive feature of this student center, students can watch productions and films produced by members of their own student body here.

Number 4.The student center of  Iowa State University 

Fig 10: Image of the student center of  Iowa State University 

This is the Memorial Union student center. At Iowa State this student center hosts multiple events, has meeting rooms for clubs, multiple food options, a recreational center featuring a bowling alley, billiard tables, table tennis and air hockey and more. The student center recreational is its most popular attraction due to the variety of fun activities it provides.

When looking at these top student centers we see that they all have very similar features that make them stand out. These are the features we aim to incorporate into our student center to ensure its success. Let’s highlight and discuss some of these features. The first and arguably most crucial feature that all these student centers share is a reliable place to obtain good food. The quality of your food can make or break your facility. If you want your establishment to thrive, good food and a variety of options are essential. In our student center proposal, we have decided to include Shake Shack, Starbucks, and Auntie Anne’s as the main food attractions. These places are renowned for their excellent food and enjoy widespread popularity. The second feature we wish to add to our student center is suitable recreation and lounge space. We need to provide areas where students can engage in physical activities or simply come to sit and relax. When examining the four examples, each one has a unique feature that makes it stand out. The unique feature we have chosen to incorporate into our student center is a graffiti wall. A graffiti wall can serve as an artistic and emotional outlet for the students on our campus.

Action Plan

Our student center project features a two-story building, covering an area of 125×120 square feet. It will be located in an open space behind The Towers, designed to cater to the specific needs and desires of our students, as determined by our extensive research. Furthermore, we are committed to implementing security measures to guarantee a secure and well-maintained environment for all. Our primary objective is to establish an environment that prioritizes the enjoyment of all and actively promotes greater social interaction among our students, thereby facilitating the development of significant and lasting connections among peers.

First floor: As you walk into the first floor, you’ll encounter a security desk. Just beyond it, you’ll catch a glimpse of the food court. On either side of the security desk, there are lounge areas where students can unwind. These cozy lounges feature comfortable couches, a table, and a bookshelf for students to relax and enjoy. Adjacent to these lounge areas, you’ll find the restrooms, with the men’s restroom to the left and the women’s restroom to the right.  Moving further into the first floor, you’ll discover seating areas where students can comfortably dine. Towards the far end, three food options await: Auntie Anne’s, Shake Shack, and Starbucks. In the center, and to both the left and right, you’ll see the staircase and an elevator. At the heart of the first floor lies an open space where students can savor their meals and enjoy some fresh air.

           Fig 11: Floor plan for the first floor.

Second Floor: The second floor of the student center serves multiple purposes to cater to various needs and interests for students of CCNY. Its primary purposes include: comfort, inclusivity, shopping, resources, academic support, entertainment, relaxation, and socialization. These are all fulfilled through the multipurpose hall and a bookstore. The multipurpose hall features a game room equipped with fun activities for students, including video gaming, computer stations for both fun and study, clubs, and lounge. Inside the multipurpose room will have comfortable furniture for students, chairs, tables, and an indoor garden. Furthermore, the goal of a multipurpose hall is to enhance the college’s academic and social environment. To ensure inclusivity, a gender-neutral bathroom will be available. The student center will also have a dedicated bookstore where students can purchase resources such as textbooks, school supplies, and CCNY merchandise. Overall, the second floor of the student center will enrich the college campus life by providing student needs through community building and convenience. 

Fig 12: Floor plan for the second floor

Fig 13: What the inside of the boxes from the floor plan would look like on the second floor. 

Fig 14: This represents the furniture design for the multipurpose room on the second floor.

Fig 15: This concept illustrates the furniture arrangement for the club room on the second floor.

Fig 16: This represents the concept furniture layout for the club rooms or multipurpose room on the second floor.

Construction Timetable: 

With the layout, design, and theme of the student center established, the next step is making it a reality by having a construction timetable to see when the student center will be ready.  The construction timetable is designed by an engineering company. This timetable includes major construction points. Before the construction can begin, there is a process that has to take place with the company. For instance, the first 4 – 5 months will be just establishing drawings with the company to approve dimensions, structure, and estimate costs. During this time the company will also be looking at certain permits and licenses that are needed to construct this Student Center. Once the layout is completed and all permits, licenses, and paperwork have been resolved. The next step is to decide on the contractor. This is done by presenting the proposal to multiple contractors. Then the contractors will either decline the project or accept and send a bid form. A bid form contains the price of all the materials that will be used to build the building. As well as the specifics on how much each process and individual material will cost. Once a bid form is selected the construction of the building can begin. The amount of time it will take to build this 15,000 square feet two-floor building will be approximately 6 months. This is standard and does not include weather conditions, or any environmental conditions that would make this process longer.  There are four main parts to the construction of this building. First, is the excavation, which is the process by which the dirt and ground are shaped and prepped for the second step. The excavation will take about 1 month. The second step is known as Concrete Walls. The concrete walls are the peeled concrete frame of the entire building. The Concrete walls will take approximately 3 months. After the structure of the building is constructed MEP follows, which is the plumbing, electrical, and mechanical elements. Lastly, the processes of Finishes are included. Finishes include details like painting, floor tiles, plastering, etc. The Finishes and MEP will take approximately 2 months which will overlap. 

Fig 17: Construction Timetable with major tasks. 

Costs and Benefits 

Costs: This budget chart shows the major items that give our student center of 15,000 square feet building of two floors with a value of $19,125,300. Although this chart may be very broad. Many details were included for the broad numbers. For instance, the furniture, tables, chairs, and lounge areas were all calculated. For the quad and outdoor space, there were numerous calculations based on general plants, landscaping, and paver costs. Along with outdoor benches, setups, and lounge areas outside were included as well.  For the Finishes, paint, certain designs like murals and lighting were also included. 

Fig 18: Construction Timetable with major tasks. 

Benefits: The benefits are unlimited for a college to have a student center. For instance, there is a new environment created for students. This new environment would be a place where students no longer have to be centered around academics. This can be shown in the survey where 100 CCNY students were surveyed and 34% of these students would use a library environment and turn it into a student center environment. Which are not environments that should be mixed. A student-centered environment brings a more social setting. Where a student would be able to make connections with their peers and have possible long-term relations with these peers even after college. Although socialization may not be all students’ priority. Having a non-academic building gives a healthy balance to a student’s life and college in general. The North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University explains how it is their mission to have a very positive student-centered environment. Showing the numerous benefits of having a space where students can build a safe space to gather, meet, and create a welcoming environment for others. Making their college more of a community. Demonstrating that although education will always be the center of a university or college. But there is also an important role that the student center brings to the students. These costs of the student center will bring many more students together and create many more memories of CCNY that do not have to be just academics. 

Our Team – Oree

Natalie Delgado is a full-time student at The City College of New York. She is a sophomore currently taking courses toward her major structural engineering. She is an intern at an architectural and engineering company called Antonucci Architectural Associates & Engineer AAAE. She developed many skills in this company for example: how to engage in meetings, complete and create bid forms, meeting min, AutoCAD drafting, making proposals, and general office work. She has been loyal to this company for the past two years and has demonstrated that she is hardworking, trustworthy, and dependable. Along with being able to be very good at collaborative group work. Outside of school and work she spends her time with family. Is very active with sports and is always trying new activities.

Tonique Gordon is a sophomore at The City College Of  New York who currently works as a library page at a New York Public Branch Library. She also intern’s at the Capital Planning and Construction Department at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Library. Some of her skills are proficiency in Microsoft office, designing spec sheets, data plans, finish plans and pricing sets. She also does project management of small-scope projects. Some of her professional qualities  are organization, team player, reliability, trustworthy, punctual and supportive. A few of her hobbies include, listening to a variety of music genres, watching documentaries on a vast amount of topics be it true crime or animal documentaries and most recently being very  bad at chess. 

Anjura Rahman is a second year engineering student at The City College of New York. She is currently in the process of completing prerequisites as a sophomore in order to officially declare her major in computer science. Some of her skills include her proficiency in Excel spreadsheet, and problem solving under pressure and quick adaptability. Her inspiration for pursuing computer science in college can be traced back to her experiences in middle school and high school, where she had the opportunity to take coding classes. Additionally, witnessing the achievements of her family members who have delved into coding further fueled her interest in this field. Outside of her academic commitments, board games and movies offer her entertainment. Exploring restaurants and appreciating the city’s beauty is another interest of hers. She values quality time spent with her loved ones. Lastly, she has a passion for travel. 

Cynthia Suquilanda is a first-year mechanical engineering student at The City College of New York. She moved to the Bronx during her first year at Aviation High School, where she studied for 5 years. At Aviation she learned about how to become an aircraft mechanic and is still working to be a certified mechanic. Her time here taught her leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving. Some of her other qualities are her ability to adapt and her reliability. She is a diligent student here at City College and is learning how to use Solid works which is a program used for 3D printing. In her spare time, she enjoys quality time with her family and friends. One day Cynthia hopes to be designing engines at a great company.

Conclusion

The establishment of our student center is driven by the primary goal: of providing a space that not only meets our students academic needs but also enhances their overall experience. This wouldn’t just bring immediate benefits it brings to our students, but would impact our institution as well. By improving our student life ratings, we become more appealing to prospective students who are seeking not only an excellent education but also an engaging campus life. It helps us stand out in the eyes of those who wish to be part of a community where students aren’t just studying all the time. Building a student center signifies that our institution values connections, relationships, and the sense of belonging as much as it values academic achievements. In essence, the student center encapsulates the spirit of unity and togetherness that defines our educational journey. It reinforces the idea that a college is not just a place of learning but a community where students come together to grow, learn from one another, and build lifelong connections.

References: 

Antonucci, Bob. “AAAE.” Aaae, www.aa-ae.com/. Accessed 21 Oct. 2023. 

Boul, Bruce. “Student Center(Ed) Is the Student Union the Key to Retention?” HMC Architects, 17 Jan. 2019, hmcarchitects.com/news/student-centered-student-union-key-retention/. 

Cagle, C. (2023, March 11). The 50 best college student centers. OnlineCollegeWiz. https://www.onlinecollegewiz.com/best-college-student-centers/ 

City College of New York. Rate My Professors. (n.d.). https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/school/224 

Consequences of student mental health issues. Consequences of Student Mental Health Issues – Suicide Prevention Resource Center. (n.d.). https://sprc.org/settings/colleges-and-universities/consequences-of-student-mental-health-issues/ 

ISSN 232-1 43 – global scientific journal. Global Scientific . (n.d.). https://globalscientificjournal.com/researchpaper/Students_centre_and_the_concept_of_learning_commons.pdf “The Role of the Student Center.” Welcome to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University,www.ncat.edu/campus-life/student-affairs/departments/student-center/the-role-of-the-student-center.php#:~:text=It%20provides%20services%20and%20conveniences,through%20formal%20and%20informal%20associations. Accessed 21 Oct. 2023. 

Appendix:

• Here are a few images that have served as inspiration for our first floor.
  • 

Figure 19: Courtyard inspiration.

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Figure 20: Lounge area couches.

Figure 22: Food court table set up.